Blood Matters
by BloodyRedQueen
Summary: When Dark Secrets come to Light, Harry is forced to re-examine everything he thought previously and learns that blood does matter. Warning for Dumbledore, Molly. Ginny, Hermione and Ron bashing . Warnings: Slash, extreme AU and OCCness Features sick!Harry in the beginning!
1. Orion Pollux Malfoy

**Disclaimer: HP and Co. belong to J.K. Rowling, not myself. **

**A/N: Well this is my newest story, yes I'm aware of the other three I have going on right now, but this idea just woudn't leave me alone. Don't worry about my other stories, they will continue =]  
****Hope you guys like this one.**

**R/R!**

Chapter 1: Orion Pollux Malfoy

Cornelius Fudge grinned gleefully as he watched Harry Potter being levitated into St. Mungos wizarding hospital. He had finally gotten what he had so desperately wanted for all these years, Harry Potter, supposed Savior of the wizarding world and soon-to-be fifth year student at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry was now under Ministry control. Earlier that evening the department for detecting underage magic had received a notification that the trace spell on Potter's wand had gone off. Fudge along with a team of Aurors had immediately responded, deciding that Potter was either causing damage or in the midst of yet another one of his far to frequent, ridiculous adventures. Arriving at Number Four Privet Drive, the aurors, along with Fudge (he couldn't miss this!) discovered Harry Potter being brutally beaten by his whale of an Uncle and walrus of a cousin. The boy's wand had been sending off sparks as his innate magic reacted to the brutal assault, hence why the trace had gone off, or so said Madame Hopkirk, whom Fudge deemed to be an expert on these matters.

Potter's relatives had ben taken into immediate custody by the aurors, and Potter had been rushed to Mungos. Fudge, being the Minister and all, had immediately revoked the Dursleys guardian rights, turning Potter into a ward of the Ministry, where he would reside until a good, respectable wizarding family had adopted him. Of course Dumbledore had arrived the second those damnable wards had gone off, claiming to be Harry's magical guardian and such nonsense, but Fudge had argued, quite eloquently if he did say so himself, that Potter's guardians were clearly unfit, and that Dumbledore, being the one responsible for placing him in such circumstances, was now under investigation himself, which in turn made him an unfit guardian for any wizarding youth, let alone the 'Boy-Who-Lived'.

**-Graphic description of injuries-**

Once at Mungos, Potter was rushed into surgery, the boy was mangled, he had been beaten, with what looked like a belt, his fingers and hands had been utterly mangled, they were completely disfigured and would need to be regrown completely, his back, buttocks and thighs were covered in welts and contusions, his chest and upper back had long cuts, seemingly inflicted by a serrated knife. Potter also had rather bad burns on his arms and hand, the skin was blackened and blistered, and seemed to just flake off at the touch. The worst however, was Potter's lower back, someone, presumably his Uncle, had carved the word 'Freak' into his skin, seemingly over and over and the wound was highly inflamed, infected and seemed to be permanent, at least according to the healers, They could make it fade, they said, but the outline would always be there, the wound had been carved into the skin over and over, making even the most potent scar remover potions only partially useful.

**-End of Description-**

It was a good six hours later that Potter was finally resting comfortably, well in a magically induced coma so he wasn't pained by the injuries that had yet to be healed. The healers had managed to get the superficial injuries, such as the welts and cuts, but the burns, the carving and Potter's hands still needed a lot of work. Even with re-growing the bones, Potter had sustained so much nerve damage in the appendages that there was a large chance he'd only regain partial mobility. His right hand was particularly bad, and the healers said, at best, he'd only regain fifty percent of the mobility that he had had before the injury was sustained.

While none of this was good news, Fudge was still overjoyed, he had gained control of Harry Potter, he was out from Dumbledore's thumb, and Fudge was going to keep it that way.

**-Blood-**

Healer Jennifer Lawrence let out a pained sigh as she bent over her unconscious patient. Harry Potter was horribly wounded, and despite the amount of time she, and other top healers at St. Mungos had spent attempting to fix him up, it was obvious that he was never going to completely heal. Frowning, she cast a diagnostic scan, noticing, not for the first time, a slight irregularity in the scans. They had all noticed this irregularity, however in their (the Healers) frantic race to save Mr. Potter's life, the irregularity had never been a major topic. Now, however, with the young man in a healing coma, Lawrence had time to explore this odd phenomenon. Frowning, the tall, dark haired woman concentrated, trying to figure out what was going on. The answer struck her like a thunderbolt, Harry Potter was wearing a glamour, and very, very complex glamour. She frowned, her mind racing with questions about why he was glamoured, and how someone had preformed such a complex spell on the boy. She could tell the glamour was old and very powerful, but she also knew she had to break it. The glamour magic could potentially mess with Harry's healing and magics the healers might have to preform on the boy. Drawing a deep breath, Healer Lawrence steadied herself before beginning the long, and complex task of removing the glamour. Instead of just banishing the magic, she removed it slowly, working her way through layer after layer of some of the most complex magic she had ever seen.

Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's quarters at Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore was disturbed from his reading by one of his silver instruments going insane. The device had begun to whirl rather wildly, emitting puffs of silver and green smoke which quickly began to fill the room. Letting out a pained sigh, Albus waved his wand, banishing the smoke while he stared at the device his blue eyes hard as he realized what this meant.

In Mungos, Healer Lawrence had finally succeeded in removing the complex glamour that covered Harry Potter. Before her very eyes the teen, once a replica of James Potter had changed dramatically. Dirty blond hair covered his head, not at all curly, but instead slightly wavy and extremely soft to the touch. His skin had lightened, his seemingly customary tan was gone, replaced with creamy white skin, unblemished except for the scars inflicted by Vernon Dursley. The famous lightning bolt scar remained, however it was hidden by a strand of blond bangs. His features had changed too, instead of round cheeks, and soft features, Harry had sharp, high cheek bones, the plains of his face now angular instead of round. He looked decidedly aristocratic, taking on the features of a very recognizable family and the features of a boy she had thought dead for fourteen years. Lawrence sucked in a breath as her mind unwillingly pulled her back fourteen years, back to a decidedly awful day for her, and Mungos hospital.

**-Flash Back-**

_"Are you ready Madame Malfoy?" A much younger Jennifer Lawrence asked, a grin on her face a she stood, proudly, in the private rooms of the Malfoy family in the famed Wizarding hospital._

_"Yes" The blonde woman growled, her hand clutching her husband's tightly as the blond tried not to wince. A greasy, dark haired man stood in the corner, a one year old boy clutched in his arms, the boy was wiggling about, as if trying to see something interesting. The man, one Severus Snape was holding the boy tightly, muttering under his breath, though his eyes gave away his excited state._

_"Alright, I need you to push" Lawrence said, stepping to her customary place between the woman's legs, where she was prepared to do the job she had been trained to do. With an almighty shriek, Narcissa did as she was told, and soon a small, blond boy was nestled in her arms._

_"Do you have a name for him?" Lawrence asked as a nurse brought over a birth certificate, her wand poised on the sheet._

_"Yes" Lucius Malfoy said, unable to tear his eyes off his young son._

_"Orion, Orion Pollux Malfoy"_

**-End Flash Back-**

Lawrence shivered, the memories of that night and the days following would haunt her forever. Orion had had a bit of trouble breathing so she had decided to keep the young boy for observation. She had thought she was doing the right thing, now, more then anything, she wished she had let the Malfoys take their son home. On the night of August seventh, just two days after his birth, Orion Malfoy had gone missing and had never been found, until now. She glanced down at the boy, yes he was older, but his image was burned into her mind from those memories and she knew she would recognize him anywhere.

How though had he come to resemble James Potter? Become Harry Potter? She knew James and Lily had a son, he had been born a year before Orion, though the family had gone into hiding and very few people had seen the baby. The Healer who had assisted in the Potter birth had retired almost immediately after the birth and as far as she knew was living on the French Coast, a recluse. She frowned, worrying her bottom lip, a habit she had never been able to break, something was not adding up.

Sighing, she shook her head, it was a mystery, yes, but now she had some people to talk to about what to do.

**-Blood-**

Lucius Malfoy frowned as he stepped through the fire into Minister Fudge's office. The man had sent him a rather startling owl that morning, requesting an audience immediately, which was rare. Fudge normally only spoke to Malfoy when he needed money, or to keep up appearances, which was fine by Lucius. Glancing up, the man was mildly surprised to see both Fredrick Molen, the president of St. Mungos hospital and Healer Jennifer Lawrence seated by Fudge's desk.

"Cornelius, I received your owl and came immediately" Lucius said, sweeping elegantly into the room, his face a cool mask, though internally he was very confused.

"Ah yes Lucius" Fudge said, moistening his lips with a darting tongue and dabbing at the sweat streaking his face. Lucius resisted the urge to sneer, what a disgusting little man.

"President Molen and Healer Lawrence came to my office this morning with some, err, rather startling news" The Minister began, clearly incapable of making small talk. Lucius frowned, tapping his cane lightly as he glanced at the two other people in the room.

"As you know, Harry Potter was retrieved from his relatives house on July twelfth, nearly four days ago" Fudge began, mopping his brow again nervously. Lucius merely nodded, he recalled being informed about the boy's state.

"Well, last evening Healer Lawrence was preforming a diagnostic charm on the boy when she discovered an irregularity in the readings" Here the minister glanced at Lawrence who cleared her throat.

"When I examined the irregularities further, I realized that Mr. Potter was wearing a very old and extensive glamour. Knowing the repercussions the glamour could have on his healing, I carefully began to remove it" She murmured. "When I was done" Here, she paused, looking pained. Lucius frowned.

"What?" He asked, "What did you discover? Is the golden boy not so golden? He sneered, wondering why the hell he had been called to this meeting.

"When I was done, I discovered that Harry Potter was not Harry Potter, but.." Here she trailed off, opening a file and handing Lucius a picture.

Taking it, Lucius glanced down, his expression annoyed, until he saw the face staring back at him. The teen in the picture was unconscious,but Lucius recognized him immediately. The blond hair, the aristocratic features, the pale skin.

"Orion?" He breathed, fingering the picture before snapping his eyes up. "Are you sure?" He demanded. Molen nodded, producing another document, it was a DNA test, the boy was Orion Malfoy.

"Oh gods, we thought he was dead" Lucius breathed, the horror of the day his youngest son had been kidnapped still fresh in his mind. He shuddered, all composure lost for the time being as he dealt with a turmoil of emotion.

"So did the world" Lawrence muttered angrily, while Fudge fretted.

"As you can see Lucius, this is very disturbing news. We still don't know what fully occurred, Harry Potter was, after all, a year older then your son. Something must have happened" Fudge shrugged.

"I will find out what happened Minister, mark my words" Lucius said, still fingering the picture carefully. "When can I see him?" He murmured, looking up.

Lawrence sighed, biting her lip lightly.

"He's still in bad condition Mr. Malfoy, the injuries Orion received at the hands of Vernon Dursley are devastating. We've healed as much as we can at this point, and he's in a healing coma in order to let his body rest. You can see him, but I feel you should be warned of the severity of his condition"

Lucius' hands tightened, his chest tugging painfully at the thought of what his youngest son had had to endure.

"I'd like to see him" Lucius murmured, standing and nodding to Molen. Fudge licked his lips again, looking anxious.

"Lucius, there is still the small matter of your son being Harry Potter"

"My son is not Harry Potter, Cornelius, nor will he be treated as such. When he has recovered from his injuries he will come to Malfoy Manor, he will resume his rightful role within my family and he will be allowed to live whatever life he so chooses. He is no longer the saviour of the wizarding world but my child" Lucius hissed, "And he will be treated as such" He glanced at the Healers.

"I want him moved to the Malfoy rooms in Mungos, I want the best healers that you have and I want Severus Snape to brew all his potions" He snapped.

"Of course Mr. Malfoy" Molen murmured, nodding his head to Lawrence. With that, the trio flooed to Mungos, leaving a very agitated and worried Cornelius Fudge sitting at his desk.

"Well damn"

**-Blood-**

"Is it really him?" Narcissa demanded, having just been filled in on everything that had occurred by her husband.

"Yes, they have done DNA tests to prove it" Lucius murmured to his wife, while Draco sat, stunned on the couch. He was horrified, his baby brother was alive, had always been alive, had always been right there. Draco shuddered, remembering how horribly he had treated Potter his entire school career. Gods he hoped he could make things better, he had too.

"Oh gods" Narcissa said, tears spilling down her cheeks as she traced a line over the photograph, staring at her son. "When can we see him?" She asked, looking at Lucius with wide eyes.

"Tomorrow love, he's still in a coma however" He murmured, "But we can see him"

"Oh gods, my baby!" Narcissa wailed, clutching the picture to her chest as more tears spilled down her delicate cheeks. Lucius quickly pulled her tightly into his arms, rubbing her back soothingly, though he also felt ready to snap emotionally. How were they going to fix this? Harry Potter had been an enemy to their family since that disastrous day on the train to Hogwarts were Draco had managed to make the boy utterly detest them. Then there was also the small matter of Lucius and the Dark Lord's diary and the grave yard adventure just that June. The boy was going to hate them, did hate them! He was their son, but he hadn't been their son for fourteen years, how were they going to make this work. Gods knew he wanted everything to work out, everything to be fine, but he knew that was a naive thought.

The Malfoy family sat in quiet, just the occasional popping of wood burning in the fire interrupting their pensive thoughts. Each had their own fears, own concerns about Orion, but most of all they wanted their son, their brother back and would do anything, everything to make him happy and healthy and loved.

**-Blood-**

It was a long week before Healer Lawrence felt it safe to begin to revive Orion. She, and the other staff, had begun to immediately refer to the boy by his proper name. She had a psychologist friend on stand by, ready to help the young teen cope with not only his mental status but the news he would be receiving shortly. It had been decided that Lawrence herself would reveal this information to the teen, letting him absorb the news before he was confronted with his family. She, along with the staff and Malfoy family, knew this was going to be very, very difficult, but hopefully rewarding. At the Dursleys, Orion had suffered not only abuse but neglect and they all hoped that despite the previous issues Harry had had with the Malfoys, the offering of a family, a real one, would pave the way for healing.

"Right, here we go" Lawrence muttered, a medi-witch was with her, along with few nurses, just in case. Pointing her wand at Orion's unconscious form, she began to chant a long, complicated string of latin phrases, watching critically as a purple glow began to surrounded Orion, fluctuating occasionally before finally disappearing.

Healer and staff alike waited with bated breath as Orion's eyes, once green now a deep silver-blue colour flickered open.

**-Blood-**

Harry Potter was staring dejectedly at the wall across from him in his private room in St. Mungos. Tear tracks were running freely down the teen's cheeks that he didn't have the strength to wipe away. Everything he knew, his entire life was a bloody lie. He had woken up yesterday morning after after ascertaining his mental stability, his Healer had dumped the biggest news of his life on him. He wasn't Harry Potter, he had never been Harry Potter, oh and he was also a Malfoy, the youngest Malfoy. He shuddered, still not sure how to handle that information. He had spent that morning talking to his shrink, oh god he had shrink. She had explained that it was natural to be confused about all this and some other psychological medical babble. Shaking his head, he winced lightly, he still hurt like hell from everything Un-no Dursley had done to him. He was propped up carefully, pillows holding him up to alleviate the pressure on his lower back. The knife wound there hadn't been completely healed, though the doctor's had done their best, but the scar would remain and the skin around the area was still sore and tender, hence the not wanting to lie on it. His hands were both heavily bandaged, resting at his sides, and he knew he'd never have full control or mobility of his right hand, his wand hand, again.

His mind wandered aimlessly, moving back to his new problem, being a Malfoy. It was like being offered the one thing he wanted but the promise was buried in a jar filled with salt and barb wire and he had to dig through it, bare handed, to get it. It was a good metaphor for what Harry was going through. He wanted a family, more then anything and he was being offered one, but the family was the Malfoy family and he didn't know what to make of that. His psychologist had said that the family would be coming tomorrow, she'd be there of course, and they'd talk. He could see what the family was like, examine his own feelings with new information and insight and hopefully things would work out. He sighed, chewing his lip lightly as he continued to stare at the wall. Did he want this? Did he really want to be a Malfoy? Well he was a Malfoy, so did he want to accept being a Malfoy. He had to admit he was disgusted and horrified by what the Potters had done to the Malfoys, stealing a baby sickened him. Everything he knew about Lily and James Potter was shattered with that revelation, he had always placed his parents on some pedestal, the whole wizarding world had. To know that they had done something so sick and so dark had changed his opinion of them completely. He didn't know why the Potters had taken him, but he didn't really care. It was unforgivable what they had done, at least in his mind. He knew that even if he didn't accept the Malfoy family as his own, he'd never go back to being James and Lily's son.

That was what this all boiled down too he supposed. Was he going to accept the Malfoys and everything they had to offer? Despite their past? Or was he going to refuse? And if he did refuse what would he do? He knew he couldn't go back to just being Harry Potter, to letting everything go back to how it was before. He sighed, wishing he could do something more then stare at the wall, he wanted to lash out, to rage, to break something but he couldn't, he was stuck. A frustrated sob tore from his throat, a low keening noise erupting from him. Misery rolling off of him in waves. He shuddered, tears rushing down his face in a torrent, splashing onto the sheets as he sobbed.

Lucius Malfoy stood in the hallway, his heart breaking as he listened to his son cry. It wasn't soft sobbing like Narcissa did occasionally, but a full out wail, he could hear the anguish, the pain Orion was experiencing and it was killing him. He knew he wasn't supposed to approach Orion until tomorrow when the Psychologist that Healer Lawrence suggested to them was there, but he couldn't take this. Sucking in a sharp breath, he pushed into the room, immediately going over to the bed and carefully enveloping his son in a tight hug. He felt Orion stiffen before the boy fell into him sobbing against his starched suit.

"Shh Ori" He murmured, the nickname for his son coming unconsciously to him. He continued to rub the boy's back carefully, cooing lightly at him as one would a baby. Ori cuddled against him, needing the support, the love he was offering and it warmed his heart. It hurt him, more then anything seeing that his son was in this much pain, but the fact that Ori was letting him touch him, be near him was exhilarating.

When Harry finally stopped crying, he shifted, looking up to see Lucius Malfoy with his arms wrapped around him. He stiffened again but he looked at Lucius, the man who was his father, as he held him, whispered reassuring things to him and felt warmed. Yes, he still had a lot to deal with, especially in his previous interactions with the Malfoys, but Lucius' gesture just now made him realize he knew very little about the actual family. He sighed, nodding his head lightly, he'd work through this, through all his troubles with them, because he wanted a family. He wanted someone to hold him and comfort him and tell him everything would be okay, like Lucius was doing now. He wanted the unconditional love and support he'd seen at the Weasleys and the pride at his achievements. He wanted the big brother to protect him, even though that big brother would be Draco Malfoy, and he wanted a mother to fuss over him, like Molly Weasley did her children. He wanted it all and he wanted it desperately. He wanted to be Orion Malfoy.

Lucius felt Orion sag against him, felt the small nod of his head and smiled. In that moment, he understood, yes they had a hell of a lot of stuff to work through, but he also knew that, in time, everything would work out. He sighed, smiling lightly as Orion's soft hair tickled his nose, it was still baby soft, just like it had been when he was a baby, yes, everything was going to be okay.

Finally, the pair broke apart and Lucius stared at his son, seeing him awake for the first time in a long time. He hesitantly reached out to touch Orion's cheek, the boy stiffened, but allowed the touch, though it was clear to Lucius that he wasn't used to being touched in a kind manner. Carefully Lucius traced Orion's cheek, smiling as he saw the mix of him and Narcissa staring back at him. Draco took after Lucius noticeably, having very little of his mother in him, Orion was different, he was a mix between the two.

"Thank you" Orion whispered, his voice hoarse as he looked up at his father, silver-blue eyes shiny from his tears.

"Anytime son" Lucius whispered, "Anytime"

* * *

A/N: I know it seems that I'm skpping over most of Orion's recovery and what not (and this will persist in following Chapters), but the point of this story isn't about Harry (Orion's) recovery and his emotional trauma (though this does play a role).

Thank you!


	2. Home

**Disclaimer: HP and Co. belong to J.K. Rowling, not myself. (Sadness)**

**A/N: Here's a second chapter, hope you guys enjoy.  
Yes, I'm skipping over major healing times, but as stated previously, this story isn't centered on Orion's recovery process. **

**R/R**

Chapter 2: Home

Orion looked at his family worriedly, all three offered him reassuring smiles as Healer Lawrence looked over her notes before casting some general diagnostic spells.

"Well, as long as you take it easy and follow the rules I've set, I don't see why you can't go home" The Healer said with a small smile. Orion grinned, he had woken up on July eighteenth from the healing coma, and now, finally on August first he was allowed to go home. Of course, going home didn't mean he was better, it just meant he was going to be in a different place continuing on his recovery. Since he had woken up and had his tantrum where Lucius had comforted him, Orion had been having daily sessions with his psychologist and his family and slowly things were improving. Oh, they had a hell of a lot to work through still, but things were better then they had been. Good enough that Orion now felt comfortable with going home with them.

"Thank you Healer" Lucius said, extending his hand and shaking the woman's. Orion was grinning happily, Draco's hand resting protectively on his shoulder as their parents spoke with Lawrence about continuing treatment at the house. Orion and Draco had worked through most of their issues in therapy and were now getting along much better then they ever had. Draco was ecstatic to have a brother, a little brother, and Orion was ecstatic to have an older brother, especially since Draco was being all protective, just like he'd wanted.

"You ready?" Lucius asked, walking over to Orion and Draco once Healer Lawrence had left to go finish her rounds.

"As I'll ever be" Orion said, his tone slightly husky. Draco squeezed his shoulder as Lucius carefully helped him out of the bed, steadying the teen as he wobbled. Orion had also been receiving a bit of physical therapy in his legs since it had been awhile since he had actually stood up. Clutching at Lucius with his good hand, his left hand, his father wound an arm around his waist and carefully lead him towards the private floo.

"I'm going to go through first" Lucius explained, carefully transferring Orion to Draco, "And then Draco will send you through" Orion nodded, watching as his father stepped into the green flames, calling out for 'Malfoy Manor' as he did so.

Waiting a moment, Draco continued to steady his younger brother as he pinched the powder and tossed it into the waiting flames and calling out for the Manor as he fed Orion into the flame.

Ori shut his eyes tight, his stomach rebelling badly as he was spit from the fire and into Lucius' waiting arms. Bile rose in his throat as he pitched forward, groaning as his stomach clenched and then heaved, spilling all over what he assumed was a very expensive and nice rug.

"Sorry" He stuttered out as Draco came through the floo closely followed by Narcissa.

"Is he alright?" The blonde woman asked kneeling next to Ori and rubbing his back as Draco grabbed a bowl and set it under his brother as his stomach continued to rebel.

"He should be, the Healer mentioned nausea with floo travel" Lucius said, still holding his son carefully, not wanting to aggravate his still tender injuries further.

After a little while, Ori seemed to stop heaving and just lay still against Lucius.

"You alright?" Narcissa asked, summoning a house elf for a glass of water.

"Fine, just don't like floo travel" Ori rasped, letting his mother help him with the glass of water. Lucius chuckled,

"Not many people like floo travel" The aristocratic blond mentioned, carefully helping Ori to stand and carefully maneuvering him onto a nearby couch, relieved that they had opted to floo into the family room and not the main entrance hall.

Ori chuckled weakly, leaning into the couch cushions and beginning to drift off. He still tired very easy and the Healer had said he'd most likely nap periodically throughout the day.

**-Blood-**

Albus cursed as he walked out of Minister Fudge's office and headed towards the Atrium. He had tried to make Cornelius see sense about Harry Potter, he refused to call him Orion, but the Minister had just smirked, arguing that the boy legally belonged to the Malfoy family and that since Harry Potter never really existed that he, Albus, had no power in the situation and should just suck it up and deal with it. Albus snorted as he stepped into the floo, heading back to his school to contemplate what to do. He knew Lucius was going to be a real thorn in his side about this whole matter. School started again in exactly a month and he knew Orion Malfoy would be appearing, though he had no idea in what capacity. Harry Potter would have been going into fifth year, but Orion was legally fourteen, since he knew Severus had been commissioned by Lucius to make an antidote for the aging potion they had fed baby Orion all those years ago. So, he really didn't know what to expect with the boy, he knew a re-sort would be called, and the Malfoys technically had every right, Harry Potter had been sorted but Orion Malfoy never had been. He sighed, Vernon Dursley had really bloody screwed up. Sure, he didn't care if Potter had been neglected, even knocked around a bit, but the man had gone too far. He had lost Albus his weapon, the only way to defeat the dark side and then, because of his abuse, had managed to hand over his weapon to a notably dark family, all in one swoop.

Shaking his head, Albus stared at his desk, a small frown on his face. What was he going to do? He had resigned himself to the fact that he had lost Harry, that his weapon was gone, but now what? He had to keep up face, continue on as the Leader of the Light and he would do that. Besides he had the Order and he had young Ronald, Ginevra and Hermione's support, all three were firmly in his pocket and that was were they'd remain. The children were livid, he had told them all at the Order Meeting last night what had occurred with Potter, and of course they were angry. He knew a continued friendship would be a problem, so instead he encouraged them to watch the Malfoys when they returned to school and keep him updated on any odd behaviour. Yes, that would work, of course it was a bit disappointment for Ginevra, she had been promised to Mr. Potter and now that wouldn't be happening. He would make sure she received compensation, how, he wasn't sure just yet, but he wanted to remain on good terms with the Weasley family so he would have to find something.

**-Blood-**

Ori woke violently when Draco nudged his shoulder. Gasping, Ori looked around wildly, his heart thumping rapidly in his chest until he calmed once he realized where he was and who he was with.

"Sorry" Draco murmured, flushing lightly. The therapist had warned them about waking Ori carefully, since he was still suffering mentally from what had happened to him.

"S'fine" Ori said, fisting his eyes tiredly, still composing himself from his startled state.

"Where are Mum and Dad?" Ori asked, the names still unfamiliar to him though he insisted on using them.

"Shopping, Mum wanted to get you some stuff, clothes or something" Draco explained with a grin, "Dad went with her, they figured we'd be alright on our own, at least for a little while" Draco chuckled. Ori grinned, he felt the most comfortable around Draco, though he was getting better with both Narcissa and Lucius, though they still had issues to work through as a family and just Ori personally. He had major issues with touch, as was just demonstrated with Draco's wake up call.

"What are we gonna do then?" Ori asked, hesitantly leaning against Draco. He was, by nature, an affectionate person, and his therapist encouraged him to actively seek out physical comfort from his family, which he was slowly getting better at.

Draco looked thoughtful, though internally he was pleased. It was much easier for him to accept Orion, even though he knew he had once been Harry Potter then it was for Ori to accept him. It had to do with Draco having known about Orion his entire life, where as this was all new for Ori, or so the therapist explained. Just having Ori lean on him, seeking comfort from him was a huge deal for the older blond and he was extremely happy to have his little brother back.

"We could play a game? Have some lunch?" Draco shrugged, suddenly unsure of how to entertain his younger brother. Ori grinned, letting out a small sigh as he saw how flustered Draco was.

"What's going to happen with school Dray?" He asked, having started calling his older brother that after a few days of therapy. Draco pretended to hate the nickname, but he loved it, though he'd never, ever admit it.

"I don't know" Draco said with a shrug, "I think Dad's going to speak with the Governors and Dumbledore about getting you resorted and into fourth year" He murmured.

"I already did fourth year" Ori groaned, not too upset about the re-sort, he had, after all expected it.

"We know, but because of the tournament taking up so much of your time in fourth year, you could probably use the repeat to actually focus on your classes instead of focusing on not dying" Draco said with a small grin, rubbing Ori's side lightly.

Ori flushed lightly, chuckling and nodded his head in agreement.

"I could probably use the repeat, if only to help me get awesome grades" He said with a small shrug, not wanting to make a big deal over school, in the grand scheme of things it wasn't really a big deal.

"What house do you think you'll get?" Draco asked, looking at his younger brother intently.

"Dunno" Ori shrugged, "If you'd asked me a few months ago I would have said Gryffindor, but now..." He trailed off with a sigh.

"I don't think you're a Gryffindor anymore" Draco agreed, "I dunno though, I suppose we'll find out" He murmured, his forehead wrinkling lightly as he contemplated just what house his younger brother would be in. He sincerely hoped he was in Slytherin, if only because he was being selfish and wanted his younger brother with him, where he could keep an eye on him and everyone interacting with him. Siri nodded, letting his head rest on Draco's shoulder as the pair stared at the fire in front of them. His actions were those of someone younger then thirteen-going on fourteen-who had once been fourteen going on fifteen, but his therapist had explained that his cravings for affection would make his behaviour sometimes that of a young child when he was given said affection, having never received any affection as a child or a teenager, beyond some interaction with the Weasley family, Ron and Hermione.

Draco smiled, letting Ori rest against him contently. This is what he had always wanted, he had always wanted to be a big brother, wanted to have a little brother to tease, to protect, to offer advice and now he had that. He didn't care a lick that Ori had once been Harry Potter and that he had once hated him, all he cared about now was that Ori was home and he was a Malfoy.

**-Blood-**

Lucius and Narcissa walked into the family room, having flooed into the main hall in case Ori was sleeping or something similar.

Narcissa made an odd cooing noise at the sight that greeted them. Ori was curled up, his head resting in Draco's lap, Draco's hand was resting on Ori's head, the older teen was asleep as well, a silly grin on his face, his head lolled to one side.

"Get a camera" Narcissa hissed at Lucius wanting to capture the precious moment. They had one picture of Ori, from the day he was born and Narcissa intended to make up for that. Lucius chuckled, carefully removing the freshly purchased camera from one of the many bags of clothing and other goodies they'd purchased for the boys. Handing it to his wife, he resisted the urge to chuckle as she darted about, snapping pictures.

At the clicking noise, Draco woke with a start, immediately quieting as he saw his mother and the camera. He groaned, realizing that he was going to have to get used to this, since Narcissa had a mildly insane gleam in her eye as she stooped down, trying to get a picture of Ori's sleeping face.

"You're ridiculous" Lucius said with a grin, watching his wife contently. Thankfully Ori remained asleep through the ordeal since Lucius was positive waking up with a crazy lady taking pictures of him would set them back in therapy.

**-Blood-**

"Well?" Ori asked, glancing up from his reading as Lucius sauntered into his room, a grin on his face. Ori's bedroom was in the family wing, as were the rest of the family's rooms, though Lucius and Narcissa had a private wing of the Manor, when they chose to use it. The room was set in between his parents room and Draco's room with a shared washroom attaching him and Draco. It was the room he was supposed to have grown up in, and had been decorated for a small child up until recently. Now the walls were a gorgeous sea-green colour. He had a large, four poster bed set up in the middle with light green sheets and a comforter that matched the walls. Black hangings were around the bed, but Ori generally slept with them pulled back, since he didn't like feeling closed in. He had a huge bookshelf, filled with every kind of book he could imagine. He also had large, comfortable chairs, which was where Lucius was sitting right now, smiling at his son. He had a desk in the corner, with his school books set up on the shelf above. His belongings had been collected from the Dursleys, though he hadn't gone through them except for pulling his firebolt out and putting it on a special broom stand in the corner. Besides that, the trunk was sitting by the desk, unopened and blatantly ignored.

"Well what?" Lucius teased, it had been a great few weeks since they had brought Ori home and the family seemed to be getting better all the time. Ori still had a long way to go, but his desperation for a loving family had helped him deal with his more emotional problems relating to the Malfoys. He seemed to be fitting in now, content to spend time with his family, basking in the love and affection that they so freely offered. He was still getting used to the fact that the family put on such a display in public, but that was all it was, a display. Behind closed doors the family was loving, caring and very open and honest with one another.

Ori glowered playfully at his Dad, much more comfortable with the title now then he had been just a few weeks ago.

"You know what" He said, sitting up on his bed and looking intently at his Dad, silver-blue eyes shining excitedly.

"Well" Lucius drawled, ducking as Ori sent a pillow flying in his direction. He grinned, his son was much more open and active now, though the scar on his back hadn't fully healed over and his right hand was still very messed up.

"Fine, fine" Lucius said, holding up his hands to calm his son, done with his teasing for now. 'I spoke to the Governors and Professor Dumbledore. You will be returning to Hogwarts, as a fourth year" Lucius explained, "And you'll be getting re-sorted. Dumbledore insists that it be with the first years, in front of all the students however" He pulled a face. He had wanted the sorting to be private and in Dumbledore's office but the man had insisted and the Governors, being spineless, had agreed.

Ori sucked in a breath, nodding his head, though he was worried. He wanted to go back to Hogwarts, desperately, but the thought of being sorted in front of the whole school scared him.

"Are you okay?" Lucius asked, moving to sit on the bed next to Ori, recognizing the worry on his son's face.

"Just worried" Ori admitted, leaning against his Father lightly. Lucius stilled, not wanting to startle Ori, out of all the family members, Lucius was the one Ori had the most trouble being touched by or touching, so this was a fairly big step for him.

"What about?" Lucius asked, keeping his tone light and gentle, employing some of the soothing techniques they had learned in therapy.

"Being sorted again?" Ori admitted, his tone drowsy, he still had been sleeping quite a bit, particularly after he received treatments on his hand, which he was still getting and would be for awhile. Healer Lawrence had said they should keep up physiotherapy on his hand for some time, even though everyone knew his hand wasn't going to improve or get better.

"Why?" Lucius asked, rubbing Ori's shoulder lightly, enjoying the moment with his son.

"I don't want to get sorted in front of the entire school. I sort of hoped it would just happen in Dumbledore's office" Ori murmured, "I don't know if I can stand sitting there, having everyone stare at me, knowing who I once was and who I am now" The blond teen said, looking up at his father anxiously.

Lucius sighed, he knew this was going to be very difficult for Ori, he'd overcome so much, but therapy had awakened a whole bunch of other anxieties that the teen had. He was allowed, for once, to give into his fears, instead of being Harry Potter, boy-who-was-invincible, he was just Orion Malfoy, a teen with many issues who was still struggling to over come most of them.

"I know son" He murmured, "But Draco will be there, watching you and nothing will go wrong. I can't promise it will be easy" He murmured, "But I can promise that you'll get through it" He murmured, "You're a strong boy Orion, you can do this, prove to Dumbledore and everyone else that you can do this and that you're not afraid of them or what they think of you" Lucius said, looking at his son intently.

Ori frowned, looking pensive as he thought over everything his Father had just said to him. He sighed, nodding his head lightly and resting against Lucius' side. It made sense, everything his Father was saying made sense, and it was something he needed to hear.

"Thanks Dad" He murmured, smiling at Lucius, enjoying the moment.

"Anytime Ori, that's what I'm here for" Lucius grinned, hugging his son lightly before slipping off the bed and leaving the room, a grin on his face.

Ori sighed, flopping down on his bed, smiling. Everything seemed so good right now. He knew they still had to breech the subject of the whole Dark and Light thing. Everyone knew Lucius Malfoy was Lord Voldemort's right hand man, but Ori was no longer involved in the war, everyone had told him (while he had been Harry Potter) that the world rested on his shoulders and that he was responsible for the whole fate of the wizarding world. There had even been a prophecy about him, or so Lucius had said, but none of that mattered anymore. None of that applied to him, he wasn't a saviour, nor the child of prophecy, so he, really no longer cared. He knew he should, Voldemort had killed a lot of people, some of whom he cared for greatly, but it wasn't his responsibility to stop him, nor was it his problem.

**-Blood-**

"How is he?" Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known to many as Lord Voldemort, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, The Dark Lord and the over used, You-Know-Who, asked his Second-In-Command.

"Better" Lucius murmured, a small smile on his face, "He's improving daily, he still has that dreadful scar on his back and his right hand will never fully heal, but he's much better" He murmured lightly, sipping his wine as he looked at the man whom many thought to be evil, but who, in fact, was his closest friend. The guise of Lord Voldemort was one Tom wore well, everything the populous and the light knew about the man was wrong. Tom was sane, he carried a vision of a better world, one where Darkness reigned of course, but he wasn't a blood thirsty beast. Yes, he did kill, yes he had followers, but he was not insane. Perhaps he wasn't the most sane, but he wasn't Lord Voldemort, Lord Voldemort was merely a mask.

"I am glad to hear that Lucius. I still cannot believe he was here, right under our noses this whole time" The dark haired man growled, that was another thing about Tom Riddle, he didn't look like some disgusting monster. Yes he had been brought back to life in a cauldron in a graveyard and at the time he had looked grotesque, but thanks to his faithful Potions' master and an ingenious body-restoration potion, he resembled himself again, perhaps a few years younger then he should look, but all in all he was happy.

"Me neither Tom, it kills me to know he was alive, to know what he endured, most of it at our hands" Lucius said, hands clenching on the wine glass for a second before he relaxed.

"How does he feel about the war? About us Lucius?" Tom asked, sipping his own wine.

"I believe, at the moment he has decided to remain neutral. He no longer wants to be Dumbledore's weapon, he's extremely pleased to be tossing of the mantle of being the Boy-Who-Lived" Lucius said, a smile on his face as he remembered his son's happiness at realizing he was no longer Harry Potter. It had taken a little while for Ori to truly realize that he was a different person, literally, and that he no longer had to play the role that Harry Potter had been destined for. It had been such a joyous moment for the boy and had been heartwarming to watch as you could literally see the stress melt off of his face.

"I can imagine. I can't believe the Potter's managed to cover up the death of their own son, the real child of the prophecy" Tom said, looking vicious for a moment, before calming. "To steal a child, replace their own? It disgusts me" He spat, "They say we're evil, yet the light condones child abduction" He sighed, shaking his head in annoyance.

"Dumbledore had to have been in on it" Lucius said, his own face twisting into an angry and ugly expression. "He helped them steal my son. He let my son lead that miserable life, be beaten and abused by muggles he wasn't even related to" Lucius growled, tears beginning to course down his cheeks. Tom was startled, he'd never seen Lucius so upset, except when Ori had been kidnapped, then the blond had been completely distraught.

"He'll pay Lucius" Tom murmured, "Believe me, he'll pay for everything he has done, not just to Orion, but to all of us who don't follow his plan of a perfect light world" He said, his eyes taking on a familiar fervor as he spoke. This was the draw of Tom Marvolo Riddle, his passion for what he believed in and one of the main reasons that Lucius followed him, beyond being his friend and trusting Tom with his life and the lives of his children.

"I want to see him Lucius, when he's ready" Tom murmured, sighing lightly.

"I'll speak to him Tom, I can't promise anything though, he might not be ready for this just yet" Lucius murmured, looking at his friend sadly.

"I understand, I can only hope that he will be ready to meet me, in time" Tom said, finishing off his wine and rising to his feet. "I shall see you tomorrow evening at the meeting Lucius" Tom said, before stepping into the floo and disappearing back to his own Manor.

Lucius nodded, watching his friend leave, his own wine glassed clutched in his hand as he thought about what Tom had asked him. Would Ori ever be ready to meet the man? Tom was Lucius' close friend, practically a family member, but he wasn't sure how Ori would react. He knew his son needed to heal and he doubted springing Tom on him would be a good idea just yet. He'd broach the subject in time, maybe at Yule? Ori needed some normalcy first, and then they could stress him out again.


	3. The Snake Pit

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Co. belong to J.K Rowling, not myself**

**A/N: Thank you for the amazing response to this story! As for the relationship (slash) aspect, I haven't decided who to pair Harry (Ori) with, though I am open to suggestions. The Slash relationship warning refers to Draco and potentially to Severus, I have yet to decide. **

**Thank You!  
R/R!**

Chapter 3: The Snake Pit

"You'll write?" Narcissa said, pulling her sons to her tightly. The Malfoy family was standing in a darkened corner of Platform Nine and Three Quarters, saying a private goodbye.

"We promise" Ori said, hugging his mother back, already sad to be leaving them. If someone had told him at the beginning of the summer he'd miss the Malfoys, he'd have said they were nuts, though to be fair if someone had told him he'd have a loving family at the beginning of summer he'd have also thought they were nuts.

"Let us know where you end up" Lucius murmured, "Right away" He added, tugging Ori from Narcissa's grip to hug him as well.

'Bye Dad and I will" Ori murmured, stepping back and closer to Dray.

"Love you" Narcissa said, Ori offered her a small smile. As much as he loved his new family, he had yet to say it out loud, something they all longed to hear, but Ori's therapist had said that it would come in time.

"Bye" Ori whispered, letting Draco tug him along to the train. He ducked his head, hiding against his brother as he saw Hermione and the Weasleys scanning the platform, looking for him obviously. He had no desire to face them right now, or ever really, but at the same time he knew a confrontation was inevitable. As much as he wanted to maintain friendships with Hermione and Ron and the Weasley family he had this horrible sense of dread that they would want nothing to do with him now.

"Relax" Draco murmured, letting Ori hide against him for the time being, he wasn't about to worry about appearances when his little brother was so freaked out and stressed.

"I'm trying" Ori muttered, following his brother onto the train, their trunks had already been loaded, along with their pets. Hedwig, Harry's owl had been killed by Vernon, it had been a difficult thing for Ori to accept and he refused to accept a new owl, so instead he had a small, black kitten now. Draco had a large eagle owl named Archimedes, whom Ori could use to send letters, or so Draco had offered. Ori missed Hedwig, a lot, but he had grieved for his first friend and was recovering. He hadn't wanted to take another pet, however when he had found the mother cat in the Malfoy barn and seen her kittens, he had immediately been drawn to the smallest kitten in the group, the runt. Now, Night as the little boy was called was riding comfortably in his cat carrier on his way to Hogwarts with them.

Once on the train, Draco had immediately begun searching out the compartment that housed his friends. They had all been informed of what had occurred over the summer, most of them had known about Orion Malfoy through stories, though now had expected to ever see him alive or meet him. They were also aware of who he had been before, though for Draco's sake most of the snakes were willing to get past their issues with Potter and accept Ori.

"In here" Draco said, nodding at a compartment once he saw Crabbe and Goyle, along with his other friends.

"Are you sure?" Ori asked, he was terrified about meeting Draco's friends, people who had tormented him for years, though he had tormented them back.

"Yes Ori" Draco grinned, "They're my friends and they already know about you and who you were. They aren't going to be cruel or nasty, I won't let them" He reassured, his tone strong, protective.

"Okay Dray" Ori grinned, "I believe you, don't need to be so sappy" He teased, smirking at his older brother slightly.

"Brat" Draco growled, chuckling as he slid open the compartment door, smiling at his friends.

"Hello Draco" Pansy Parkinson greeted him, glancing over his shoulder curiously at Ori. Smiling, the brunette hair, slightly pug-nosed girl rose, extending her hand formally.

"Pansy Parkinson" She said, aware of everyone watching her every move.

"Orion Malfoy" Ori said, shaking her hand and smiling. He was aware of what was going on, it was a formal greeting, a sign of acceptance by anyone of Pure Blood.

"Pleasure" Pansy intoned, sitting down and gesturing for Draco and Ori to do the same.

Soon introductions were made all around and Ori was introduced to Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

The train ride was, thankfully, quiet. Ori mainly read, letting the soft chatter of the Slytherin fifth years wash over him. It was so different from before, sharing a compartment with Ron and Hermione was never quiet, never calming. It was usually always busy with loud chatter and sometimes arguments. The Slytherin compartment was a lot different, he sort of liked it. He sighed contently, letting himself bask in the acceptance he felt in the compartment, his eyes closing as he began to drift off, exhausted over the rather exhausting morning.

"Is he alright?" Blaise asked Draco, looking pointedly at Ori's still bandaged hand.

"He's better, I wouldn't say he's a hundred percent, but he's a lot better then when we first saw him" Draco said, wrapping an arm around his little brother and drawing him against him, wanting to keep him safe, though there was no threat in the compartment.

"I'm surprised he's here" Pansy admitted, "I thought your parents would want to keep him close to home" The brunette girl said with a shy grin.

"They wanted too, believe me" Draco chuckled, smiling as Ori cuddled against him, it was nice.

"Oh?" Blaise asked, as Theo glanced up from his book, looking intently at the fourteen year old boy sleeping against Draco.

"My mother in particular wanted to home school him, but he needed to return to Hogwarts, he felt it was something he had to do" Draco explained, eyeing Theo for a moment before returning his attention to Blaise.

"Sort of like something he had to do?" Blaise asked while Pansy cooed softly at Ori.

"Something like that" Draco nodded eyeing Pansy warily now, tempted to gather his brother up and away from the girl. She looked decidedly like his mother did when she got her hands on a camera.

"We're almost there" Theo commented as he glanced out the window, able to see the lights of Hogsmead in the distance.

"Ori" Draco murmured, not wanting to shake his brother awake or anything, not in a weird place. The teen twisted lightly, silver-blue eyes flickering open in surprise as Ori quickly glanced around, needing a moment to remember where he was. He rarely slept on the train, especially when seated with Ron and Hermione.

"On the train" Draco murmured softly in his ear, "We're almost in Hogsmead, its time to get ready" He added. Ori nodded, fisting his eyes sleepily before rising and pulling on his plain black Hogwarts robes.

"Are you taking the boat?" Theo asked curiously, eyeing the younger teen intently once again.

"No" Ori shook his head, "Thankfully not" He murmured, "Dumbledore wanted me to, but Dad put his foot down, said I wasn't a first year despite being sorted"

"That's good, its bad enough you have to get sorted with the little midgets, can you imagine taking the trip with them as well?" Blaise commented, wrinkling his nose.

"And that, my dear Blaise, is why you're not a prefect" Draco said, tapping the shiny badge pinned to his chest, next to his Slytherin crest. Pansy was also sporting a prefect badge, though she'd been wearing it the whole trip and Draco had only just pinned his on.

"Draco, I have no desire to be prefect" Blaise said, "It means I have to follow the rules. I much prefer the whole no responsibility route"

Draco snorted, chuckling lightly at his best friend's antics. Ori looked confused, though the younger teen didn't comment, just watched curiously.

"You're ridiculous Blaise, ridiculous" Pansy sniffed, "See the other house will be all honorable about being given the badge, but everyone expects us to be unfair, its the perfect excuse to take points and assign detentions and stuff" She said gleefully.

"Of course in such a manner that no one can truly suspect us" Draco added, grinning lightly at the other girl.

"You sure you guys should be discussing this in front of me. Seems like some rather interesting Slytherin insights and I might not be sorted into the Snake Pit" Ori piped up, grinning teasingly.

"We trust you brat" Draco said, ruffling his younger brother's hair playfully. "Even if you're not officially sorted into the Snake Pit, you're an honorary snake" Draco said, "By virtue of being my baby brother"

"Notta baby" Ori whined, batting his brother away and glaring playfully.

The train pulled into the station at Hogsmead and complete and utter madness (as usual) ensued.

Ori followed Draco closely, surprised when Crabbe and Goyle immediately fell into step around them, succeeded in keeping the general masses from running all over them. It was nice for Ori, since crowds made him a bit nervous, having people he didn't know touch him absolutely terrified him. Draco hovered closely to his brother, keeping a hand on his shoulder in reassurance as he pushed his way towards the waiting line of carriages.

Claiming one, the group of Slytherins clambered inside, all of them very relieved to not have run into any Gryffindors. Ori wasn't ready for the ensuing confrontation with what he knew were his former friends, barring Fred and George perhaps, he always had suspected those two weren't exactly one hundred percent pro Dumbledore. And Draco, Draco wasn't ready to see his little brother upset, he knew he'd snap if he saw that. Ori had endured so much pain, still was enduring it, the last thing he needed was Weasel screaming at him or something.

**-Blood-**

Ori licked his lips, mildly annoyed to be standing with the first year students waiting to be sorted, but he was more annoyed about how short he was, he was only a bit taller then the first year students, some of the taller ones were even nearing him in height, it sucked. Draco was nearly six feet, still growing, Ori was a measly five foot four inches, probably not about to grow anymore. The Healer said it was due to the malnutrition he had suffered growing up, along with the constant injuries. He sighed, watching as the sorting began, he had been to zoned out to hear the Sorting Hat's song, though judging by the scattered applause it hadn't been the Hat's best work.

"Malfoy, Orion" He started as Professor McGonagall called his name and flushed as he slowly walked forward, his eyes glued to the ground.

"Sit down please Mr. Malfoy" McGonagall snapped briskly, startling Ori with her brusqueness. She had always been kind to him, but it seemed the elderly Transfiguration teacher only was kind to Harry Potter. Sighing, he sat down, letting the rather ratty hat be placed on his head, subsequently slipping down over his eyes.

Ah Mr. Malfoy, it seems your real identity is finally revealed to you The Hat purred in his mind. When I told you in your first year that you would do well in Slytherin I was not lying, your entire family has been in Slytherin, but you argued against me. Choosing the Lion's Den instead of your rightful home in the Snake Pit. It seems, with this reveal of who you truly are, you are better suited for your rightful house, though you still exhibit many qualities of the other house. So Mr. Malfoy, are you ready to go where you belong? Into the house that you should have always been in? Ori nodded lightly, the movement barely noticeable to those watching the Sorting with interest. Draco, in particular, was enthralled by what was happening. Finally the wide rip at the rim of the Hat opened, and there was a collective intake of breath around the Great Hall. Even Dumbledore seemed particularly intent on what was going on.

"Slytherin!" The Hat roared, leaving a stunned silence before the Silver and Green house burst into frantic applause.

Ori carefully took the hat from his head, handing it back to the shocked Professor McGonagall. Casting a quick glance around the Great Hall, Ori's face fell as he saw the angry expressions of his former friends as they glared him all the way to his new table.

"Knew you'd be with us" Draco said, making room for Ori between himself and Crabbe, making sure his brother was well protected in case the Gryffindors decided to act out.

"I'm glad I am" Ori murmured, "I mean, I'd be fine with another house, but I'm glad I'm with you" He murmured, hesitantly glancing up at the Head Table.

Thankfully Professor Snape had been filled in on everything and him and Ori now got a long better. Uncle Sev, as Ori had been asked to call him, even attended a few therapy sessions so that the pair could work through the trauma of Sev's treatment of him for his first four years at Hogwarts. Everything wasn't perfect of course, Ori was still hesitant and shy around Severus and refused to let him touch him, but at least they no longer hated one another.

Severus offered the teen a quick smile, making sure that no one saw, since he did have a reputation to maintain.

**-Blood-**

"So here we are" Draco murmured, leading Ori into the Common Room, closely followed by his friends and the rest of the house. Pansy and the other prefects were dealing primarily with the new first years, giving them the traditional welcome speech and what not. Draco was focused primarily on Ori, showing him around, getting him settled, things like that. The Common Room was gorgeous, in Ori's opinion, grand made up of primarily black and green colours. Large bay windows looked out into the mer-people village under the lake.

"Where do I sleep?" Ori asked, looking at his brother with an anxious expression. He knew he should be braver, tougher then he was being but therapy sessions had really torn down all his mental and emotional walls and he was still learning to cope with everything that had happened to him.

"I have private quarters" Draco murmured, "Professor Snape, Father and I decided you could bunk with me, since it wouldn't be fair to stick you with the fourth year boys, whom have bunked together for four years" He explained, glancing up as his godfather swept into the room.

"Sounds good to me. I was a bit worried" Ori admitted, grinning at his brother, a small sigh escaping him.

After Severus completed his customary beginning of the year speech, he made his way over to the couches were Draco and Ori were seated with a group of Draco's friends.

"I trust the train ride was uneventful?" He asked, looking worriedly at the Malfoy boys.

"It was" Draco murmured, "No run ins with the Gryffindorks, thank the gods" He added, letting his gaze drift upwards for a moment. Ori nodded, smiling at his Uncle as he peered around the Common Room curiously.

"Good, if you have any problems I ask that you come straight to me" Severus murmured, offering a reassuring smile at the pair, which looked out of his place on his face in Ori's opinion.

"We will Uncle Sev" Ori murmured, his tone much quieter then his brother's. Severus nodded, smiling once more before pulling his mask into place and heading out of the room, after posting a few notices about Quidditch and other various things on the Slytherin notice board which was set up by the entrance into the Common Room.

"Ready for bed?" Draco asked, looking at Ori whom had been nodding off for the last half an hour. The younger blond forced his eyes open, glancing at his brother with a sheepish smile.

"Yes" He murmured tiredly, "Which room is ours?" He asked, realizing he had no idea where to go.

"I'll show you" Draco said with a chuckle, carefully helping Ori up as he lead him towards the dormitories.

"In here" Draco said, pushing open the door to his private room, now their room.

"Woah" Ori murmured, looking around the room with wide eyes. It was decorated very much like Draco's room back home, only with much more green and silver. Two large, four poster beds were set up, one in the corner which Ori assumed was his. He liked to sleep up against the wall, it was a comfort thing.

"Pretty Cool huh?" Draco murmured, chuckling at his little brother's awed expression.

"Uh huh" Ori said, smiling as he saw his things had already been delivered.

**-Blood-**

Draco smirked, leaving Ori to himself to get ready for bed before joining his friends in the Common Room. He was nowhere near ready for sleep, and with all the excitement of the summer he hadn't really had much of a chance to spend time with his friends.

"So Draco, what's it like having a little brother?" Pansy asked, pulling her legs up onto the couch, carefully arranging herself comfortably.

"Its amazing" Draco admitted, a light blush staining his cheeks. "I mean, I've known about Ori my entire life, known I was supposed to be a big brother, but I never had the chance. Now, suddenly Ori's back" He murmured with a small smile, "I never expected him to accept our family as easily as he has" He said, shaking his head and sighing. "We have a ton of issues to work through as a family of course, but so far its going better then any of us expected"

"I can understand that. Despite Ori being Orion Pollux Malfoy, for fourteen years he was Harry Potter, and he lived under that mantle for a long time. Being the supposed saviour of the light is a big burden" Pansy said, playing with the tips of her hair.

"I think that was one of the reason he accepted us and being a Malfoy" Draco said, "To give up the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing, he hated that title and everything that came with it" He murmured, thinking back to a few of the therapy sessions over the summer.

"So, has he picked a side?" Theo asked curiously.

"He's neutral thus far" Draco said, "He isn't a big light supporter, not after realizing everything they've done to him. But I don't think he's ready to accept the dark just yet" He murmured, smiling lightly. "Dad's going to see if he's ready to meet our Uncle over Yule" He said, putting emphasis on the word 'Uncle'.

"How do you think that will go over?" Blaise asked, watching Vince and Greg attempt a game of Wizarding chess.

"No idea, he might just accept it" Draco said with a small shrug, "Or it could be a bloody disaster. Either way, he needs to be made aware of the situation, of just how close our family is with the Dark Lord" Draco muttered, rubbing a hand over his face and sighing.

"Just be there for him Draco" Pansy murmured, "He's going to need all the support he can get"

"I'll always be there for him" Draco said, "He's my little brother Pans" A goofy grin gracing his features. The group of Slytherins grinned, Draco looked so much happier then he had in previous years, it was nice to see.

**-Blood-**

"Today is gonna suck" Ori groaned as he sat on his bed, watching his brother get ready for the day, he had never seen someone with such an elaborate morning routine.

"Why do you say that?" Draco asked, staring intently in the mirror as he styled his hair.

"Cause I have to go to classes with people I barely know, probably deal with a bunch of angry Gryffindors and re-learn stuff" The other blond said with a sigh.

"You'll be fine" Draco reassured, smiling lightly at Ori as he pulled on his robes, moving closer to his younger brother. "Besides, we'll see one another at lunch and I'm sure you'll make friends" He added, he knew most of the fourth year Slytherins, they were a good group and bound to get along with his brother and make him feel at home in the Snake Pit.

"I guess" Ori sighed, sliding off the bed and grabbing his book bag, having been ready to leave for nearly half an hour, Draco just hadn't been.

"You will" Draco said with a firm nod, before grabbing his bag and following after Ori.

"Ready for classes?" Pansy asked, seeing the brothers as they entered the Common Room, joining the rest of the Snakes as they headed towards the Great Hall.

"I am" Draco said with a nod, "Although having OWLs this year is going to make the work load hell" He added.

"I'm not" Ori said with a shudder, "Glad I don't have to worry about OWLs yet though" That was one good thing about repeating fourth year, he didn't have to worry about the overload of studying, nor did he have to worry about Hermione and her obsessive studying habits.

Draco huffed, cuffing Ori gently, careful to make sure his brother knew his actions were playful. Ori stiffened, though he grinned at Draco, nudging him back lightly, something he would have never done just three weeks previous.

"Eat" Draco ordered, letting out an annoyed huff as he saw Ori playing with the food on his lap.

"You're thin enough as it is, you have to eat" The fifth year said, shaking his head and pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Sorry" Ori murmured, taking a bite of bacon, though it tasted like chalk in his mouth. He was so incredibly nervous about today he just couldn't seem to focus and eat. Draco sighed, watching Ori worriedly, the Healer had said that his brother had suffered sever malnourishment during his time at the Dursleys and it would take a long time for his body to recover. Uncle Sev had put him on a strict regiment of nutrients potions, and he was under strict orders not to miss any meals.

"I'm eating Dray" Ori said, slanting his eyes at his older brother and shaking his head lightly, he still wasn't used to Draco fussing over him, and Narcissa and Lucius were just as bad, if not worse. It was an adjustment, but one he enjoyed making.

"Did you write Mum and Dad? Tell them you're a Snake?" Draco asked, sensing a subject change was in order.

"Yea, I owled them last night before I went to bed" Ori said, grinning. "They should be getting back to me" He said, nodding as their Father's eagle owl, Spartan, swooped into the Great Hall among the horde of other owls delivering post. Draco chuckled, shifting slightly to let the great bird land on the table, extending his leg while looking intently at Ori's bacon. Untying the letter, Ori automatically fed the bird some of his food, before watching the majestic owl take off.

"What did they say?" Draco asked, nudging Ori as he tried to read the letter.

"Just congratulated me Dray, and then said to do well in our studies and they can't wait to see us at Yule" The younger teen said with a chuckle.

**-Blood-**

Lucius sat down opposite Tom, a small grin on his face.

"What has you in such good spirits this afternoon?" Tom asked, arching an eyebrow at his friend.

"Ori owled Narcissa and I last night, his sorting went well" The blond said with a grin,"He's a Snake" The grin turned into a beaming smile.

"He's a Slytherin?" Tom asked, a small smile gracing his own, pale features.

"Yes, he is" Lucius murmured, "He's greatly relieved by that, he was a bit worried about getting sorted back into Gryffindor" Lucius added with a small frown.

"I can't blame him. Harry Potter might have been accepted into Gryffindor with open arms, but Orion Malfoy would have been torn apart by the lions" Tom said, staring thoughtfully at Lucius. "I'm pleased to hear that he is with Draco, in his proper house" He added, sipping his tea contently.

"As were Narcissa and I" Lucius said softly, "He needs the security Draco can offer. Therapy has torn down many of his mental walls, and he's a very fragile young man at the moment. Harry Potter was extremely tough, yet emotionally starved, Ori is dealing with the consequences of his upbringing now, and it is not exactly easy for him"

"Indeed, under the Harry Potter persona, Ori had to become what the wizarding world wanted him to be, now, with that persona gone, he has to deal with everything he has suppressed for all those years, not to mention the emotional, mental and even physical wounds that he received at the hands of those bloody, useless muggles"

Lucius nodded, "He has gotten much better, though he has a long way to go" He said with a small smile.

"What do the Healers say about his injuries?" Tom asked curiously.

"His right hand will never fully heal, despite the best treatment Mungos could offer, it was far to damaged" Lucius said, an ugly scowl on his face. "The scarring on his back had faded substantially, but they doubt it will ever fully disappear. Severus is working on a special potion, a combination of skin regrowth and scar removal to see if he can get rid of it"

"Scar?" Tom asked, Lucius had never mentioned a scar.

"On his lower back" Lucius murmured, "He has the word 'Freak' carved into his lower back. It seems the Dursleys felt the need to remind him what he was to them. The wound was very deep and badly infected and had been inflicted over a long period of time. They weren't able to fully remove it"

"Disgusting muggles" Tom spat, horrified at this information. He was Ori's godfather, his Uncle in all but blood, or so he had once been, and to know someone he cared for had endured so much, while dealing with everything else, disgusted him.

"Narcissa cried for a week when she saw it for the first time" Lucius said, his face pale, his tea cup clenched in white fingers. He still remembered seeing the horrid scar, it had broken his heart, it had nearly destroyed his wife and Draco, Draco had been ill. Ori still didn't know about these reactions, as he had been in the healing coma when they had seen it, which was good, or so the therapist said. They would discuss the scar eventually, but she wanted Ori to come further in his emotional healing before they discussed the ramifications of his scar, and the belief that had put it there.

"I can imagine" Tom murmured, shaking his head sadly. Lucius nodded, both men falling into silence as they thought about the young boy who completed their family.


	4. Red Faced Weasels

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Co. belong to J.K Rowling, not myself. **

**A/N: Wow, the response to this story is amazing. You guys rock!  
I've had a few questions relating to Sirius and his role in this story. I can assure you guys that Sirius will play a role in Orion's life and I have everything all worked out. So, don't worry!  
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, its a bit fluffy and what not, but I rather like it. Lots of Protective, Big Bro Draco. **

**R/R!**

Chapter 4: Red Faced Weasels.

Orion settled himself in a seat in Transfiguration, making sure he sat on the designated 'snake' side of the room. His eyes slid over to the Gryffindor side of the room, Ginny was in this class, along with a few other Gryffindor fourth years he knew. He sighed, opening his book and staring down on it. He swallowed anxiously, he was not looking forward to this class, well he was looking forward to focusing on his school work if that meant anything, but he was not looking forward to the potential drama that would ensue pending on the Gryffindor reaction to his presence.

"Hey Harry" Ginny's voice sounded in his ear, startling the young Malfoy from his thoughts. He stiffened, turning silver-blue eyes on the red-head, watching her eyes widened at the sight of him. He felt the urge to sigh, it had been everywhere, the Prophet, the Quibbler, Witch Weekly that he was no longer Harry Potter, that he was Orion Malfoy, but of course, his former friend would insist on calling him Harry, probably trying to remind him of his duty and everything he wanted to forget.

"Harry I'm talking to you" Ginny said, poking his shoulder sharply. He sucked in a breath, glaring at her now.

"I'm not Harry" He snapped, "My name is Orion, Orion Malfoy" He was attempting to channel his inner Lucius Malfoy, or something similar.

"You're name is Harry" Ginny snapped, shaking his shoulders, where her hands had remained after poking him. "You've always been Harry. You can't let the Malfoys seduce you Harry. You have us, we're a better family then them any day" She said, shaking him again.

"Let me go Ginny" Orion growled, pulling away from her as much as the desk would allow.

"They're my family. Mine" He snapped back at her, "Harry Potter died Ginny, he died fourteen years ago. I am Orion Malfoy" He said, nodding his head sharply.

"No you're not" Ginny argued, letting her hands fall to her side. "You're Harry Potter, you're a Gryffindor and the Saviour of the light. You are not a slimy, evil snake or a Malfoy" She argued. "You can't decide after one summer to just throw all that away. The Malfoys don't love you Harry, we do" She argued, her face beginning to turn red as she grew more and more angry.

Orion snorted loudly.

"If you loved me, why did no one check on me?" He asked, his tone cold, very similar to Draco's when his older brother was angry. "I was left alone in that muggle hell, no one came to check on me, to see if I was okay or anything. Bloody Fudge came to get me Ginny! Fudge!" He snapped, "And only because my wand was giving off sparks and it alerted the Ministry to the use of Under Age magic" He growled. "If you gave a damn about me, if any of you did someone would have come to check on me" He snapped, "So excuse me if I embrace my new family. My real family, the people who helped me recover from everything, who are still helping me" He growled. "I am happy with everything I have now Ginny. Let me have that, let me be happy for the first time in my bloody life" And with that he returned his expression to the front of the class, just as Professor McGonagall stalked in.

"Please be seated Miss. Weasley, class is about to begin" The stern Transfiguration teacher said primly, moving to the front of the room.

**-Blood-**

Draco shook his head in disgust as he stalked out of the Potions' classroom.

"Calm down Draco, Weasley's not worth getting so upset over" Blaise said, resting a calming hand on his best friend's shoulder as they made their way towards the Great Hall for lunch.

Draco shrugged Blaise's hand off, flopping onto the bench, a scowl still on his face.

"Draco" Blaise murmured, "I know Weasley was off base, mouthing off about Orion like that, but he's a Weasley, he's uncouth and uneducated, he's not worth getting all upset over" The Italian teen said, shaking his head and trying to calm his friend.

Draco glanced at Blaise, letting out a sigh as he finally began to calm down.

"You're right, he's not worth it. He just pissed me off" Draco muttered, "Calling Ori names, hinting about his abuse, that he deserved it" Draco hissed, scowling at the goblet of pumpkin juice in front of him.

"I know Draco, it pissed me off too, but don't let him realize that" Blaise said, watching Orion wander over, a frown on his face.

"I know Blaise" Draco murmured, composing himself as Orion flopped down next to Draco.

"You alright?" Draco asked, his anger melting away into concern, Ori looked pissed off and shaken and that worried him immensely.

"Ginny" Ori muttered, beginning to pile small bits of food onto his plate. Draco arched an eyebrow at Orion, looking expectantly at his younger brother.

"Oh?" The older blond drawled, looking at the younger teen, a serious expression on his face.

"She was just being really irritating in Transfiguration" Orion explained, nibbling on some potatoes. "She was calling me Harry, going on about how I didn't belong with our family, that you didn't care for me" He said, "It just sucked" He murmured, rubbing a hand over his face and looking at his brother with a shrug.

"Ah" Draco said, shooting a glare at the Gryffindor table. "Don't listen to a word she said" He muttered, "We love you, you're a Malfoy" He said, rubbing his brother's shoulder.

"I know, I told her as much, it just irritated me" Orion said, taking a bite of his chicken.

Draco nodded in understanding, though he was pleased to see that Ori hadn't let the Weaselette get under his skin and make him second guess his place in their family.

"I told you today was going to suck" Orion muttered, smiling wryly at his brother.

"I believed you" Draco muttered, chuckling lightly as he absentmindedly put a bit more food on Orion's plate, ignoring his brother's huff of annoyance.

**-Blood-**

Orion slowly made his way into the Potions' classroom, chewing his lip nervously for a moment. He knew he and Professor Snape, or Uncle Sev, were on far better terms then they had been when he had been Harry Potter, but the classroom still inspired a certain sense of dread and fear in the pit of his stomach.

Carefully, Orion made his way towards a table on the Slytherin side of the room, shooting a light grin at the other fourth year snake sitting there.

"Orion right?" The boy asked, looking at him curiously.

"Yes, Orion Malfoy" Orion responded with a grin. "I'm sorry I don't know you're name" He said, blushing lightly.

"Dominick Warrington" The other teen said with a smile. "My friends call me Nick though" He said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you" Orion responded, grinning lightly at the other teen, pleased that he had succeeded in making a friend of his own, without Draco's help.

"Want to be my partner?" Nick asked, arching a dark eyebrow at Orion. The younger Warrington had dark hair, almost black which was cut short. He had pale skin, and brown eyes which were slightly sunken into his face. He had squared shoulders and was taller then Orion, which wasn't really all that surprising.

"Sure" Orion said, glancing up as Professor Snape came billowing into the room, scaring the Gryffindors. It was rather interesting to be on the other side of the room for a change for Orion, he had, instinctively, tensed when Uncle Sev had swept into the classroom, barking at them to get their books out. Instead, he watched in interest as Uncle Sev growled at the Gryffindors while shooting covert looks at his own students, looks of encouragement or contentment, it was startling to see this side of the man.

"Today, as you all should know, we will be brewing the Wit-Sharpening Potion" Professor Snape snapped, once he had finished stalking around the classroom.

"The instructions" He purred silkily, "Are on the board" He said, tapping the board with his wand, his spidery script appearing as he did so.

"You may begin" He added, seemingly taking pleasure in watching the mad scramble ensue as students rushed off to get supplies.

"I'll get the supplies" Nick offered, letting Orion begin to set up the cauldron. Orion nodded, focused on carefully getting the fire lit underneath the cauldron and to the proper temperature. He was well aware of a few of the Gryffindor students glaring at him as they brushed past his table on their way to the ingredients cupboard.

Once Nick had returned, the two boys began working in tandem, dicing, mashing, measuring, cutting ingredients before slowly adding them to the cauldron.

"Once you have added the armadillo bile, your potion should be turning a lilac colour" Snape drawled, peering into Ginny's cauldron and sneering.

"Once you have finished, bottle up a sample of your potion and place it on my desk. Once your station is clean, you may leave. I expect a two feet of parchment on the different uses of ginger root to be handed in at the beginning of next class" He said, ignoring the collective groan of students.

Orion carefully poured a measure of his and Nick's potion into the glass vial, admiring the lilac colour. It was nice to correctly brew a potion for a change, he had realized he was capable of brewing potions over the summer when his father and Draco had spent some time teaching him. It also helped having Uncle Sev on his side for a change, instead of making nasty comments and breathing down his neck.

While he handed the potion in, Nick quickly tidied up their work space and the two snakes were awarded ten points for following directions. It was the first time ever that Snape had awarded Orion any points, and he couldn't stop beaming. It was a thrilling feeling, of course Nick thought he was nuts, the other teen had been awarded points by Professor Snape consistently in his three previous years at Hogwarts. It seemed to Orion that Nick had forgotten who he had once been, not that that bothered Orion, for the time being he very much just wanted to forget being Harry Potter and everything that entailed.

**-Blood-**

Draco strolled tiredly out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom absolutely stunned. This had to be a sick joke right? He knew the Ministry had been concerned about Hogwarts for some time, but to assign that, that creature as a Professor was beyond comprehension.

The woman, Dolores Umbridge, had been at the Welcoming Feast, but he had paid her little mind, more focused on Orion and the sorting. Now, having actually been near the woman, he was beyond disgusted. She had assigned some awful textbook for them to read, and just read. This was going to be an entirely theoretical defense class, which was horrific.

"Well that was...interesting" Theo finally commented, his own face drawn in a scowl as he walked with Draco and Blaise, Vince and Greg were a few steps behind them, as were the girls.

"Mhm" Blaise commented dryly. "I thought it was impossible for a class to be more boring then History, today I was, and I will only admit this one, proven wrong" The Italian said, chuckling as Theo rolled his eyes at him.

Draco sighed, "That was by far the worst Defense class we've ever had and that includes Lockheart"

Blaise snickered, ignoring the scathing look his blond friend sent him.

"And you kept saying that there would never, ever be a Professor worse then Lockheart" Blaise teased.

"Well I was wrong, I can't believe the Ministry managed to scrounge up someone worse then that pretender" Draco snapped, clearly not in the mood to be teased. Blaise sighed, letting the topic drop, not wanting to upset the blond anymore. It was obvious to him that Draco wasn't just upset over the class, but over Weasley and everything else and his mother had always taught him that it wasn't safe to bate a Malfoy, even if it was fun.

The group of fifth year Slytherins made their way into the Great Hall, sour faces and goofy grins immediately vanishing behind well practiced masks. Draco was mildly relieved to see Orion already seated at the Slytherin table, speaking with Dominick Warrington. While Draco wasn't the biggest fan of Dominick's older brother, Charles Warrington, he was pleased to see that Ori had made a friend in Slytherin.

"Hey" Draco murmured, sitting down next to Orion, "Dominick" He said, inclining his head to the younger student.

"Hey" Orion beamed, pouring himself a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Draco" Nick murmured, carefully placing some potatoes on his own plate.

"How were classes? No more incidents with Gryffindors?" Draco asked his younger brother, looking pointedly at his own relatively bare plate. Orion sighed, but carefully spooned some more food onto his plate, looking at his brother out of the corner of his eye, waiting for his small nod of approval at the amount of food added.

"Good, no incidents. It was interesting being on Professor Snape's good side" Orion said with a small shrug.

"He is rather nice when he's not growling at you" Draco said with a small smile.

"I didn't blow anything up" Orion said with a pleased smile, causing Draco to smile in return. He rather enjoyed seeing Orion smiling and happy, he had been a bit worried about Orion going to Uncle Sev's class, even though everything had been sorted between the two. He wasn't sure how Orion would react to Potions' class in general.

Silence fell over the table as the group of Slytherin students began to eat, speaking only occasionally and in hushed whispers. The Ravenclaw tables were equally quiet, though Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, the latter in particular, were rather boisterous.

**-Blood-**

Draco shifted, flexing his shoulder lightly as he looked over his Defense essay. It wasn't due for a week, but he wanted to get it done right away, particularly since he knew Uncle Sev and McGonagall would have some major assignments due in the next few days and those deserved his best effort, not this rubbish.

Orion was playing chess in the corner with Dominick, or rather, Dominick was attempting to teach his brother how to play. It was rather amusing to watch, since Ori definitely was not a chess player. He kept a careful eye on his brother as he worked however, noticing that Orion was occasionally rubbing his injured hand, flexing it lightly beneath the light bandages. He wondered vaguely if he should fetch their Uncle, he had a salve for Ori's hand when it was bothering him. It was going to for awhile, according to the Healers at least.

"You alright?" Nick asked Orion curiously, seeing his friend wince every time he moved his hand.

"Just sore" Orion responded, smiling grimly at Nick in what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

Draco glanced over at Orion again, having heard what his brother said, frowning, he rose, leaving his essay unfinished as he approached the table.

"Lets go see Uncle Sev" He murmured, resting his hand on Ori's shoulder. "He has some salve for your hand" The older blond murmured.

Ori looked torn for a moment, looking at the game and Nick before nodding at his brother.

"I'll be back in a bit" Orion said to his friend, a small sigh escaping him as he rose from his seat and followed after Draco.

Arriving at the portrait that hid the entrance to the Potion Master's chambers, Draco knocked carefully on the frame. Uncle Sev had chosen a notoriously nasty portrait to guard his door and the painting tended to get angry and rather loud if they bothered him.

After only a few moments, the portrait swung forward in a manner similar that of the Fat Lady who guarded Gryffindor Common Room.

"Enter" Sev's silky tones came from inside, and both boys quickly scrambled inside, the portrait banging shut behind them.

"May I ask why you're here?" Severus drawled, he was seated in his small living room, the fire roaring as he sipped his tea, an abandoned potions' manual in his lap. Sev's chambers were decorated mainly in greens, though he had black furniture. He had a small kitchen and living room along with a moderately sized washroom and bedroom. He even had guest chambers, and a private potions' lab which was attached to the main lab and his classroom and office.

"Orion's hand is acting up" Draco explained, Ori was half behind him, still a little shy and apprehensive around the man.

"Oh?" Severus murmured, setting aside his tea and going over to his storage cupboard.

"It's been aching on and off all day" Orion explained, his voice soft, "It started to really hurt just a little while ago" He added, letting his older brother man handle him into one of Sev's stiffer kitchen table chairs.

"Let me take a look" Severus murmured, sitting down opposite Orion, a pot of cream next to him. Orion nodded, letting his bandaged hand rest on the table between them, palm up.

Draco stood behind his brother, hands on his shoulders as Severus began to unravel the off-white bandage. Ori winced at the tugging sensation on his still raw wounds, and Draco winced as he saw the angry cuts and still rough burns which dominated his brother's skin.

"Hmm" Severus drawled, uncapping the cream and gently lifting Orion's hand to examine the injuries. "These aren't healing as well as we had hoped" He murmured, we being himself and the Malfoy parents.

"Oh?" Draco asked, Orion's eyes were clenched shut, it hurt when people touched his injuries and he found closing his eyes and praying for it to stop seemed to help.

"See how inflamed the burns still are? How puffy the cuts?" Severus murmured, carefully pointing the injuries out to Draco.

"I see" The older bond said with a small frown. "What does it mean?" He asked, rubbing Orion's shoulder soothingly.

"It means he has a slight infection in his injuries, plus all the use of his hand lately has aggravated his injuries, hence the aching and soreness" Severus explained as he scooped some cream up and carefully began rubbing it on Orion's injuries. He suppressed a wince as Orion let out a little gasp and a few tears leaked from beneath his tightly clenched eyelids at the pain.

"Does he need to see a healer?" Draco asked worriedly as he watched his godfather.

"I'll keep an eye on the injuries, if they don't improve or get worse then yes, he will need to see a healer" Severus murmured, carefully putting the cream down and wiping his hands off. Taking a fresh role of bandages, he gently began to wrap Orion's hand back up.

"You'll need to come see me every evening, after dinner" He murmured to Orion, smiling reassuringly at the boy, even though the soft expression looked very out of place on his face. "Try and use your left hand as much as possible, I know that's difficult, particularly in classes that use spell work, but you need to take some of the pressure off of your right hand. You might want to practice writing and wand work with your left hand in your spare time as well" Severus murmured, "You know you won't regain full use of your right hand, which will have repercussions for your wand work, you need to start learning how to use your left hand for spells and what not" Severus said, finishing his wrapping job.

"I-I'll try" Orion said, his voice shaky as he pulled his hand back and cradled it against his chest.

"Good" Severus said with a small smile, "Care for some tea before you leave?" He asked curiously.

"Please" Draco murmured, knowing Orion wanted to regain some of his composure before returning to the Common Room, though the atmosphere in Slytherin house was more relaxed behind close doors, one did not walk in sobbing unless they had very good cause. And while, in Draco's mind, Ori had very good cause to be crying, he knew the other snakes would see the tears as weak and use it against him later on, it was just a Slytherin thing to do.

"Thanks" Ori murmured, flashing Severus a watery smile as the man pressed a cup of tea into his shaking hands. He had laced it with a mild calming draught, knowing the teen would sleep better with a bit of help.

"Anytime" Severus murmured, settling down opposite Draco after he handed his godson a steaming mug.

"Are you gonna owl Mum and Dad?" Orion asked Severus curiously, sounding much more under control after a few sips of tea.

"Yes, they need to be informed about the infection. I know your father will want your healer to look at it, if it gets that bad" Severus explained. Orion nodded, taking another sip of the warm liquid.

"Why not just have Madame Pomfrey look at it?" Orion asked, ignoring Draco's scathing expression and snort of amusement.

"Because Madame Pomfrey is just a medi-witch, not a fully qualified healer" Severus explained. "She can handle broken bones and other minor injuries, but your hand requires greater finesse, and Healer Lawrence has worked on your hand previously, its better for her to see it, then someone inexperienced with the injury" Severus added at Orion's confused look.

"Oh" The teen murmured, "Okay" He said, he didn't want to go back to Mungos, he had had it with that place, but he did like Healer Lawrence.

Draco smiled, glad Uncle Sev was able to explain why Pomfrey wouldn't be involved in his healing in a diplomatic manner, he would have just snapped that she was an under-qualified, incompetent, fussy old woman. Which probably wouldn't have gone over to well.

**-Blood-**

Orion yawned, clambering into bed tiredly, it had been an exhausting day, first with classes and then with seeing Uncle Sev for his hand. Thankfully the appendage felt better now, though he still felt an irritating throbbing sensation in his palm, it was nothing compared to the ache that had been there earlier.

He sighed, he normally would think over the day, however now he was bloody tired and wanted nothing more then to go to sleep. So, for once instead of his agonizing journey to sleep, he drifted off without a problem, unaware that it was probably because of his tea laced with a calming draught earlier.

Draco heaved a small, yet satisfying sigh of relief as he rolled up his Defense essay. It was probably one of the worst essays he'd ever written, but he was extremely thankful to be done with it, regardless of the poor grade he was likely to receive.

"Done already?" Theo asked, peering over the blond teen's shoulder, a frown on his face.

"Already? Bloody essay took me forever" Draco grumbled, "Total garbage, that textbook is useless" He said, glaring at _Defense Magical Theory_ as if his eyes could set it on fire.

"Agreed" Blaise said, shaking his head. "When I saw that text on our book list.." He trailed off shaking his head.

"My Father was pretty disgusted by it" Draco admitted, "He knew the Ministry wanted to have a bit more of a hand in education here, but even he thinks this is ridiculous. I owled him about Umbridge, she's the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, she has no background in education, nor any interest until recently" Draco added, wrinkling his nose in annoyance.

"What book did the fourth years get?" Theo asked curiously.

"Same rubbish as us, just an earlier addition, same author and everything" Draco said with a sigh. "How are we supposed to pass our OWLs with this nonsense being taught?" He asked, it was mainly a rhetorical question then anything else.

"We're not" Pansy pipped up, having been drawn into the conversation when Draco began discussion his Father's opinion on things. Most everyone was curious about Lucius Malfoy's take on certain events.

"I heard some Gryffindors talking about creating a defense group" Daphne Greengrass, a friend of Pansy's murmured.

"How? Umbridge won't allow anything like that" Draco murmured, "She has no intention of any of us learning defense, unless we want to use these books to beat someone of course" He said, gesturing at the textbook on the desk.

"I have no idea, it was just Granger and Weasley discussing it, muttering something about defending themselves form the danger outside of school" She added, flicking her golden-blond hair over her shoulder in an absentminded manner.

"Danger outside of school being the Dark Lord of course" Pansy said, rolling her eyes. "Like a defense group of Gryffindors would be effective against the Dark Lord or any of his Death Eaters" She added, sniffing disdainfully.

"At least they'd pass their OWLs though" Blaise said, "I mean, fifty percent of our grade is based on practical spell work, none of us are going to pass at this rate" He said, shaking his head. "Maybe we should ask Professor Snape for some private, in-house tutoring" He mused.

"That might not be such a bad idea, Umbridge doesn't seem to hate Slytherins as much as she does Gryffindors, as long as Uncle Sev was working with us, she might not say no" Draco murmured thoughtfully, "At least we'd have a shot at passing. My parents will kill me if I fail defense, I mean history they'd understand, they had Binns, but defense? That would be unforgivable" He said, wrinkling his nose at the thought.

"All our parents would kill us" Pansy said, admiring her fingernails for a moment. "I think we should approach Professor Snape though, see if he'd be willing to teach us at least a few of the spells that will be on the OWLs" She said, letting her hands fall into her lap.

"Agreed, we'll talk to Professor Snape" Draco said, as the others nodded, even Vince and Greg, which was surprising since they rarely paid attention to much going on beyond what time dinner was and who they got to pummel.


	5. Defense Magical Theory

**Disclaimer: HP and Co. Belong to J.K. Rowling, not myself. **

**A/N: This is a bit of a slow chapter, though it is necessary. A bit of big brother Draco again (Cause he's awesome). Thank you to all my reviewers and everyone who has favourited or added this story to their alerts, it means a lot!**

**R/R**

Chapter 5: Defense Magical Theory

Thankfully for the Malfoy brothers, the following few weeks of school seemed to fly by with very little conflict, particularly with the Gryffindors. It was, thus far, the most normal year either boy had ever had at Hogwarts and Orion was flourishing under the attention and care offered by his brother, Head of House, classmates and new friends. He was working hard on learning to use his left hand, and professors such as Flitwick and McGonagall had been working with him outside of classes to help him adjust to using his other hand. Thankfully, with careful monitoring and an expert Potions' Professor, Orion's injured hand was getting better and was infection free, which cheered the younger teen greatly. He had had no desire to return to St. Mungos, nor worry his parents any more then they already were.

Orion sighed, flexing the fingers of his left hand before he picked up his quill again. Never had he written such a bloody boring essay. Thus far Umbridge had been boring, yet tolerable, however last week she had busted up a Gryffindor Defense league, which had been lead by his former friend, and had been on a warpath ever since. If anything the class had slowed down even more as Umbridge attempted to prevent anyone from learning new spells or practicing old ones. Currently, the youngest Malfoy was bent over his Defense essay in the library, it was about the danger of using defensive spells prematurely and gods was it awful. Anything could potentially be seen as a defensive spell and thus the essay was long, boring and probably one of the worst he'd ever written, including the ones written for Binns' class which he was still convinced the man didn't read.

Finally, rolling up the essay, Orion shoved it in his bag rather unceremoniously and pulled his Charms' text towards him. Normally he would be studying in Slytherin Common Room, but the Quidditch team had taken over, thanks to Draco attempting to become the next Oliver Wood, and they were having a strategy session. So, Orion and a few other Snakes had decided to brave the library, which was quieter then the Common Room, but had the risk of other students and overzealous Gryffindors. Focusing on the text, Orion began writing key essay points, figuring he'd get as much work done now as possible. It was Friday after all, and with a Slytherin versus Gryffindor Quidditch match scheduled for the following afternoon, no one wanted to have any homework on their plates.

**-Blood-**

Orion carefully placed his Transfiguration textbook into his bag, letting out a sigh of relief. He was done, he had no more homework assigned, beyond some term projects which weren't due until the end of term. Relieved, he carefully shouldered his bag and walked out of the library and began the long walk back to his Common Room. Judging by the lack of people in the halls, it was a lot later then he figured it would be, though it couldn't be past curfew since Pince hadn't chased anyone out of the library. Contemplating the game tomorrow, it'd be interesting to be sitting in the stands for a change, but his hand injury had made it impossible for Orion to continue to play Quidditch, he could still fly without a problem, but there was no way he could catch the snitch, not to mention he had had enough injuries to last a life time, and playing for Slytherin after being the much loved Gryffindor seeker for four years would have made him a prime target for lion attacks.

Caught up in thoughts of past glories, Orion didn't realize where he was going and the young Malfoy accidentally walked straight into a familiar red-head.

Stumbling back, Orion gave his head a shake before looking up into the very familiar face of his former best mate.

Unconsciously, Orion took a step back from the Gryffindor fifth year. He had, thus far, been very lucky in managing to avoid confrontation with his former Gryffindor friends and year mates. Ginevra Weasley had continued to harass him, but he only ever saw her in classes so she was easy to ignore. He had also managed to maintain friendships with Fred and George Weasley, who still appreciated everything he had done after the tri-wizard tournament with his winnings and surprisingly Neville Longbottom. However, from what the three Gryffindors had told him, Ron and Hermione were pretty pissed off about him becoming a Malfoy and 'abandoning his true house and friends' as the pair had been putting it.

"Malfoy" Ron spat, glaring down at Orion with angry blue eyes. Orion unconsciously flinched back from the tone, his arms wrapping around himself. While he had physically recovered (mostly) from his disastrous summer with the Dursleys, he still didn't respond well to angry tones, violent movements or yelling. His therapist said that it was rather unlikely that he'd ever fully recover from the traumatic attack, and Ron's tone was something his therapist would call a trigger.

"R-Ron" Orion's voice shook as he looked at the angry Gryffindor, summer had been good to the other teen, he was taller then before, clearly taking after Percy and Bill in his lanky frame, long limbs and large hands and feet. The twins and Charlie seemed to be more on the stocky side, with broad shoulders and chests.

Ron's eyes narrowed and his skin tinged red, a tell-tale sign that the other teen was angry. On some level Orion couldn't blame him, Ron detested the Malfoys and now he was one of them, not to mention he had become a Slytherin, something probably unforgivable in Ron's eyes. However, his therapist and family had told him (again and again) that if Ron, Hermione and the other Gryffindors were truly his friends, they wouldn't abandon him because of his family or his house.

"You little bastard" Ron spat, taking a step towards a shaking Orion. "You give up everything you stand for to become a fucking Malfoy?" He growled, hands twitching by his sides. "Didn't have enough fame and money as the boy-who-lived? Had to shake it up? Suddenly claim your relatives beat you and that you're a fucking snake? You're pathetic" Ron spat, still stalking towards Orion who was now pressed up against the cold, stone wall. Orion shook his head, frowning.

"You know thats not true" He said, wishing he could make his voice stronger. "I hate the fame, you know that" He said, mentally trying to calm himself down. He could feel a panic attack coming on, and that would be very bad in front of Ron.

"Liar" Ron sneered, "I bet your Daddy let the Potter's take you so that you-know-who had a spy inside a good, light family's house. Your parents probably arranged the death of the real Harry Potter" He said, his face darkening more, clearly the teen was embarrassed about being best mates with the him, rather then the so-called real hero, never mind that it was actually Orion who Voldemort had attacked and that it was Orion who had survived.

"That's a lie and you know it" Orion snapped, "The Potter's weren't as good as you all say they were, they kidnapped a child, fed him dangerous potions and hid the truth from the world" Orion growled in annoyance. That was still a sore point with him, realizing he could have lived with his real, loving family if not for the Potters. Ron growled, his face darkening even more at the insults against his (and the wizarding world's heros).

"Death Eater scum" Ron hissed, shoving Orion up against the wall harshly, seeming to enjoy Orion's hiss of pain. Orion couldn't really dispute that his father wasn't a death eater, since he knew for a fact he was, but it still hurt being called scum, particularly after the summer.

"Let me go" Orion hissed, shoving Ron in an attempt to get away from the taller, stronger teen.

"Can't deny it can you? Your precious family is nothing but disgusting dark wizards" Ron laughed, shoving Orion again as he tried to escape.

"My family is not disgusting, they're loving and kind and a hell of a lot better then yours" Orion growled, struggling to get free of Ron's tight grasp.

"At least my family doesn't worship a disgusting mad man" Ron said with a sneer, pressing on Orion a bit more, a small smirk on his face. Orion sneered, though internally he was freaking out. He knew Ron could do some serious damage to him if he really wanted too. Orion sucked in a breath, once again he couldn't dispute the worshiping the dark, but still it hurt being on the other side of Ron's insults.

Orion squirmed, biting the inside of his lip as he tried to figure out a way to get away from Ron. He glanced down the hall, unfortunately no one was around, just his luck.

"Let me go" He demanded again, trying to channel his inner Lucius Malfoy, though he wasn't doing a great job it seemed.

"I don't think I will" Ron said, a small smirk on his face "See you completely humiliated me and Gryffindor" He said, "Made us think you were the Saviour of the Wizarding World, made us worship the ground you walked on. You were everything to us Harry" He said, saying Orion's former name with contempt. "And then we find out you're nothing but a filthy Malfoy, the son of You-Know-Who's second hand man" He said, knuckles turning white.

"I didn't do any of those things" Orion protested, "I didn't know I was a Malfoy Ron, not that that should matter" He snarled, struggling against his former friend's grip. "If you were a true friend you wouldn't abandoned me just because you don't like that I'm really a Malfoy. A real friend would be happy for me, happy that I found my real family, a family that actually cares about me" He said, shoving Ron again and managing to push the red head back a bit, sending Ron stumbling. Seizing the opportunity, Orion pushed away from the wall, turning and beginning to flee from the annoyed red-head, suddenly he pitched forward, having been struck from behind with a hex or curse. Letting out a yelp, he was sent flying head first down a nearby staircase, Ron's laughter and shout of triumph ringing in his ears.

**-Blood-**

"Where is he?" Draco Malfoy demanded as he and Severus rushed into the Hospital wing after Madame Pomfrey had flooed Severus, saying that Orion had been found unconscious at the bottom of one of the stairways.

"Over here Mr. Malfoy, Severus" Poppy said, poking her head out from behind some curtains which had been drawn around one of the Hospital wing beds.

Severus put a calming hand on Draco's shoulder as the pair bustled over to the bed.

"What happened?" Severus asked, looking over Orion critically. The fourth year Slytherin was still unconscious or asleep, his dark eyelashes standing out stark against his pale cheeks.

"We don't know exactly" Poppy murmured, casting a diagnostic spell on the sleeping teen. "A Hufflepuff first year found him lying at a heap by the stairway that leads to the library" She said, frowning as she looked over the results of the spell.

Draco was ignoring Poppy and Severus, sitting next to his brother and holding his hand worriedly. He wasn't prepared to see Orion in the hospital again, not after he'd spent so much time at Mungos during the summer and on bed rest in the Manor. He sucked in a breath, looking over Orion with a small frown. Gods he'd never let anything like this happen to Orion again, he'd do everything in his power to prevent it.

"How is he then?" Severus asked looking at Poppy with a scowl, though he wasn't angry at the nurse.

"He had a concussion, a dislocated shoulder and some relatively bad bruising on the center of his back, he also had a sprained wrist and twisted knee. I've healed everything but the bruising might last for a few more days, it seems to be the product of a spell, though I'm not sure which one, and its proving rather resilient against bruise-remover" She explained.

"Concussion?" Severus asked, looking worried. Any type of head injury was rather serious, particularly for someone like Orion who had had some serious head injuries over the summer, a byproduct of his stay with his former relatives.

"Fully healed Severus, he'll be fine" Poppy reassured, "No lasting damages beyond a headache tomorrow perhaps" She said. "I'll keep him overnight and release him in time for the Quidditch game tomorrow. Provided he takes it easy for a day to two, he shouldn't have any negative side effects" She explained.

Draco sighed in relief, having been listening once Madame Pomfrey had been discussing his brother's healing and injuries.

"So he'll be alright?" Draco asked, looking back down at Orion. His brother didn't seem to be in any pain, but he was still worried.

"Perfectly fine Mr. Malfoy, like I said, he'll be out of here in time to go watch your Quidditch game tomorrow afternoon" She said with a reassuring smile. She, like most teachers at the school, were shocked by the obvious affections between the Malfoy siblings as well as Draco's overprotective tendencies. It was a surprise for most of the teachers as well as students to see the normally cold, Ice Prince of Slytherin to be so protective and caring of someone beyond himself.

"Thank the gods" Draco breathed as Severus also breathed a sigh of relief, the latter not only relieved that the teen was going to be alright but also relieved that he didn't have to inform the Malfoy parents that Orion had been hurt.

Poppy smiled, allowing Draco to remain with his brother for a little longer before she chased him and Severus out of the Hospital wing, assuring them that Orion would be fine.

**-Blood-**

Draco beamed as Orion slumped his way into the Slytherin Common Room after breakfast on Saturday morning. He'd just been released from the Hospital wing after having choked down some of Madame Pomfrey's rather tasteless oatmeal that she always insisted over-night patients had.

"How are you feeling?" Draco asked, bouncing over to his brother and pulling him into his arms. "What happened?" The blond added, the story circulating school was that Orion had fallen down the stairs. Madame Pomfrey disagreed, mainly due to the odd bruising on Orion's back which she suspected was from a strong spell. Draco was also inclined to disagree, Orion was not particularly clumsy, and he highly doubted his little brother would have fallen down the stairs.

"I feel fine Dray" Orion murmured, "Just a bit tired" He said with a small shrug, letting his older brother comfort him. Waking up in the Hospital wing had been a highly unpleasant experience for Orion and had shook the teen badly.

"I don't remember" He murmured, letting himself sag against Draco. He really had no idea what had happened, just what Madame Pomfrey told him. He had blurred memories of the night, something with Ron, but beyond that he really had no idea.

Draco frowned, still hugging his brother greedily, needing to see that Orion was okay.

"Are you tried? Do you want to go lie down?" Draco asked, immediately launching into overprotective brother mode.

"I'm fine Dray" Orion said with a reassuring grin, "Just a bit sore, but Madame Pomfrey says I'll be fine" He said lightly. "Besides I wanna be in the stands cheering you on" He said, pulling back from his brother with a grin.

"You better be" Draco said, ruffling his brother's hair.

"I have no where else to be" Orion said in a mock serious tone. "Besides, I really wanna see you beat the lions" He was feeling mildly vindictive and really wanted to see Slytherin win and hopefully crush his old house.

Orion walked with Blaise and Theo into the stands, Nick was also there, as his brother Charles was also on the Quidditch team. The stands were packed, as they always were whenever Gryffindor and Slytherin played one another. Most of the students were wearing red and gold, supporting the lions, though the Slytherin fans stood out, one strong patch of green surrounded by a sea of red.

"You alright with being in the stands?" Blaise asked, Draco had asked him to keep an eye on Orion and he was taking the responsibility rather seriously.

"It'll be different" Orion murmured, "But I'll be fine" He added as the group of Slytherins sat down with Pansy, Millicent and Daphne, whom had saved them seats.

"At least you can't get attacked by bludgers" Pansy said, grinning at Orion. She had become rather maternal towards the younger boy having always felt more like a sister to Draco then anything.

"Don't jinx him Pans" Theo said, sitting down next to Nick, who was sitting next to Orion, bouncing with excitement. The first game of the season was always the most exciting, except for the final game for the school quidditch cup. Orion chuckled, enjoying the atmosphere in the stands as well as the feeling of companionship he got when hanging out with his new snake friends.

"I don't think my luck is that bad" Orion whined, ignoring the laughs of disagreement from the group.

"You keep believing that" Blaise said, ruffling Orion's hair as the players trooped onto the field. Orion shifted, watching intently as his brother, the captain of Slytherin's quidditch team, shook hands with Angelina Johnson, captain of the Gryffindor team. With a tweet of Madame Hooch's whistle, the players took to the air and the Quaffle was released, closely followed by the bludgers.

**-Blood-**

Two and half hours later, Draco caught the golden snitch, winning the game for Slytherin and beating Gryffindor for the first time in five years. The cheering that erupted from the Slytherin stands was deafening and Orion was caught up in the excitement. The group of green-clad fans headed towards the Common Room where a party was soon underway, just in time for the team to tramp inside.

"That was awesome" Orion said, finally worming his way to his brother's side. Draco was basking in the glow of being the Quidditch hero, though he immediately turned his attention to his brother, a grin on his face.

"I was pretty amazing" He preened, shifting on the couch to make room for Orion to flop down. His younger brother was grinning, his hair was slightly mussed up and his cheeks were red. He was clutching a bottle of butter beer and he looked exceptionally good, considering the previous night. Orion rolled his eyes, though he grinned and let his brother continue to brag about his amazing catch, just squeaking out the win for the team.

The party began to wear down just after midnight. Many of the younger students had fallen asleep throughout the evening, Orion and Nick included.

"Guess we wore them out" Blaise said, putting down his empty bottle of butter beer and nudging Nick lightly. Draco chuckled, nodding his head in agreement.

"I'm surprised Ori wasn't out earlier" He murmured, carefully scooping up the younger teen as Blaise and Charles managed to get Nick stumbling into his own dormitory with the other fourth year boys.

"Night Dray" Blaise called, having adopted the nickname when he heard Orion using it, going into the dormitory he shared with Theo, Vince and Crabbe.

"See you in the morning Blaise" Draco called, nudging open the door to his and Ori's room. Yawning, he settled his sleeping brother in his bed, before going to the washroom to ready himself for sleep. He, like most of the Slytherins, was beyond relieved that the next day was Sunday and he was very much looking forward to sleeping in. He was still concerned about Orion's so-called fall, but he had no evidence to the attack, and though he suspected a certain red-head's involvement, he couldn't just accuse him. Ori didn't even fully remembered what happened thanks to the concussion he had received, so he wasn't very useful in pinpointing what had happened. So, Draco knew he'd have to be very Slytherin about this, use all his snake cunning and sneakiness to really figure out what had happened to his little brother. He knew Weasley wouldn't be above bragging about the accident and he knew that he could figure out what happened he just had to be patient and let Weasley screw up, which wouldn't take all that long after all. Grinning, Draco clambered into bed, glancing at his sleeping brother one last time before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about not describing the Quidditch scene, I had one written but realized it really sucked, so I decided to omit it. **

**Hope you guys enjoyed.  
**


	6. Pushed to the Brink

**Disclaimer: HP and Co. belong to J.K. Rowling, not myself**

**A/N: Well I hope you guys like this chapter, I'm not super pleased with it, but it does have some Lucius and Orion moments as well as an Umbridge confrontation. **

**R/R!**

Chapter 6: Pushed to the Brink

Orion sighed tiredly, closing his potions' text with a snap. Even though he now mildly enjoyed potions, he'd never enjoy Uncle Sev's assignments. At least now the man marked him fairly, not based on his hatred for James Potter. Massaging his temples in a vain attempt to keep his blossoming headache at bay, Orion glanced around the Common Room. The comfortable room was relatively empty, a few other students sprawled about doing homework or playing games but otherwise it seemed everyone was outside enjoying the rather mild weather which had been October thus far. Putting away his things Orion headed into his and Draco's shared dorm room, intent on putting his things away and going to join the throngs of students outside. He knew his brother and his friends were down by the Quidditch, playing a pick up game or something, and Pansy and the girls were by the lake, discussing fashion, or so he assumed they were since they had left with stacks of magazines. Nick was off with a few other fourth years, they had gone down to the pitch as well, they had invited him but Orion had declined. He liked trying to get his homework done as soon as possible so he'd have some spare time for himself.

He'd never been able to do that in Gryffindor, since Hermione absolutely detested if Harry showed off his intelligence, not to mention he always had Ron distracting him and keeping him from doing his work. It was nice to be able to embrace himself fully now, when he had been Harry Potter he had lived under the weight of many expectations, such as excelling in Defense Against the Dark Arts, being an amazing seeker and parading around under the guise of the perfect Gryffindor hero, not to mention Dumbledore's puppet. Now he was able to just be himself, allow some of his less savory personality aspects flourish, or those that would be considered unsavory for the so-called Gryffindor hero. It was a new experience for Orion to be loved for who he was, accepted fully by his family regardless of his faults, it was incredible and it made almost everything he had endured worth while, it was also one of the reasons he had so easily accepted the Malfoys into his life. His mind healer had discussed what a real family was with him extensively and he realized that the Malfoys were offering him exactly that, a real family. Over the last few months and the summer in particular, the Malfoys had continually shown him that they loved and cared for him, patiently putting up with his many emotional and mental issues (such as being touched and tendencies to hoard food occasionally), instead of berating him, getting angry with him or hurting him, they had worked with him to overcome his issues and still were. It was a level of acceptance Orion had never expected to have and he absolutely loved it.

**-Blood-**

Tom smiled lightly as Lucius handed him the latest letter the proud father had received from his youngest son. Lucius had written him the week previous regarding the plans for Yule, they had found that Orion didn't react well to surprises, so Lucius and Narcissa were careful to run things by him far in advance of any events, making sure their young son had time to think things over and decide how he felt about it. Lucius had written Orion regarding him finally meeting his godfather, giving carefully veiled clues to who the man actually was.

The last week had dragged by for Tom, he desperately wanted to meet the young man whom he'd heard so much about. He wanted to apologize for the last five years of Orion's life where he'd mistakenly believed he was Harry Potter and had even gone so far to use his blood in a ritual to bring himself back to life. Lucius had explained to him that Orion had nearly completely separated himself from Harry Potter and would try and meet Tom as Tom, not the dreaded Lord Voldemort. Tom just hoped that this would go okay, he very much wanted a relationship with Orion similar to the one that Severus had with Draco.

"So he's okay with meeting me?" Tom said, still slightly stunned by the contents of the letter. Orion was a very clever young teen it seemed, able to decode his father's hints and even respond in a manner that wouldn't give away anything incase the letter was intercepted.

"Yes, he's a bit nervous which is understandable, but he's willing to give Tom his godfather a chance" Lucius murmured, grinning at the other man. Tom smiled, almost giddy at the news that he would finally get to meet the young man.

"I am very pleased to hear that Lucius, the last real memory I have of Orion is Mungos, when you and Narcissa named me godfather and I held him for all of five minutes before he was rushed off" The Dark Lord murmured, wrinkling his nose. The memories of the hospital were bitter sweet for the Malfoy family as well as himself and Severus. It had been amazing that Lucius and Narcissa had had another son (and he had been named godfather) but the sweet memories were tainted by the horror that had occurred while Orion was in the hospital. Sighing, he shoved the memories away, that night still haunted him even more so then that faithful night of October 31st when he'd been brutally ripped from his body by (ironically) by his own godson and rebounding curse.

**-Flash Back-**

_Tom stepped gingerly through the fire into the Malfoy's normally pristine sitting room. He had received a frantic floo call from Severus, but he had barely been able to understand the babbling man, only getting that he needed to come to Malfoy Manor immediately. Shaking his head, the dark-haired man took in the complete destruction of the room and his confusion and worry grew. Summoning a house elf, he was shocked when the creature appeared sobbing. Demanding to know where Lucius and Narcissa were and finally getting a response from the sobbing elf he practically ran down the hall towards Lucius and Narcissa's private quarters. The room was once again completely destroyed and he found Narcissa sobbing in near hysterics on the couch and Lucius screaming into the floo and presumably someone from the Ministry. Severus was walking circles around the room, holding a squalling Draco Malfoy and muttering angrily to himself, his own eyes red with tears._

_"W-what's going on?" The normally stoic man asked, moving to take a now quietly sobbing Draco from Severus. It was clear the blond one year old really didn't know what was going on and was just crying because everyone else was._

_Lucius finally emerged from the floo, the normally calm Malfoy looked furious and his hands were twisting madly on the head of his cane._

_"Orion was kidnapped" He rasped out, his voice husky from all the shouting he had just done. That announcement brought another wave of sobbing-turned-screaming from Narcissa before the woman seemingly collapsed in a heap, her grief so great she couldn't physically express it._

_"What?" Tom gasped, his hands tightening carefully on Draco, the boy babbling incoherently about 'Ori'._

_"When Healer Lawrence was doing her rounds this afternoon she stopped in to check on Orion and found he was missing, she immediately began asking other staff members and it was quickly discovered that Orion was no longer in the hospital. He's gone" Lucius said, tears now coursing down his face as he fell onto the couch, his head cradled in his hands, his shoulders heaving as he gave into his own grief._

_"They have no leads?" Tom snapped, looking at Severus now, he was the most calm out of the group._

_"None" The dark-haired man said, summoning a crying elf and asking for a bottle of fire whisky. Sinking to the chair nearest the fire, the dark haired man caved and began to drink directly from the bottle the elf had returned with. Tom couldn't believe what he was hearing, someone had kidnapped Orion, his godson? Shaking, he sank down onto another chair, still cradling a sniffling Draco. The little blond boy could only keep saying 'No Ori' or 'Ori gone' and it was utterly heartbreaking._

**-End Flash Back-**

Lucius caught the look on his friend's face, realizing the man had been thinking about the same day he had just been remembering.

Lucius still couldn't even discuss the day Orion had been kidnapped it brought far to many miserable emotions to surface and he had no desire to ever re-live that experience.

"Would you like to spend the entire holiday at the Manor?" Lucius asked Tom suddenly, "Sev has already accepted the invitation and will be joining us the day after the holidays begin"

"Of course, I have no plans for the holiday this year and I would like to see Draco again as well as spend some time with Orion, give him a chance to get used to me" The red-eyed man said with a small grin.

"Narcissa will be delighted, she loves having everyone at the Manor and this is our first Yule with Orion back with us, the first time we can truly celebrate" The blond-man said with a smile. The family's previous holidays and events had always been marred by the fact that they were missing a vital member of their family. The pain had dulled mildly with time, but losing Orion had been like losing a limb (if you considered the family unit a body), you learn to function but you were always extremely aware that it was gone.

"It will be a wonderful holiday Lucius, I shall need to find some suitable presents however. I know what Draco enjoys but what about Orion?" Tom asked curiously. Lucius chuckled and the two men began a discussion about christmas presents and the youngest Malfoy.

**-Blood-**

"Finally wrote Dad back eh?" Draco said, sliding onto the bench at Slytherin table next to his younger brother.

"Yea, I figured I'd left him and our Uncle'-he stumbled over the word-'Tom hanging long enough" The shorter blond responded, carefully spooning some salad onto his plate very aware of his brother's watchful gaze.

"And?" Draco promoted, smiling as Orion added some beef to his plate.

"I said I'd like to meet him. I know what he did to Harry Potter, but the Malfoys and Severus were also awful to Harry Potter" Orion murmured, "So, as Orion Malfoy I'm going to give him a chance, plus he is my godfather and I want to meet him" Orion confide in his older brother softly.

"Good, Uncle Tom is really nice" Draco said with a grin, taking a sip from his goblet.

Orion just grinned before digging in, he was a bit worried about meeting his godfather, especially since he knew Sirius was the godfather the Potter's had assigned him, and the man had always been really nice to him, but he also wanted to meet the man that the Malfoys had trusted to take him in should anything happen to them. Sighing softly, the young Malfoy focused his attention on his food, once again ignoring angry glares directed at him from the lions' table. It was a regular thing for him now, the glares and angry remarks and he had learned to ignore them, or at least pretend he was ignoring them.

**-Blood-**

"Damnit" Orion groaned as he rushed down the hall towards the DADA classroom. He had overslept, been late to breakfast and was now running down the hall frantically late for class. He knew Umbridge hated people being late to her classes and he knew he was bound to get into trouble, he just hoped he wasn't assigned a detention, he had heard detentions with Umbridge were awful.

Slowing once he reached the door, he carefully pushed the door open and slipped inside.

"So good of you to join us Mr. Malfoy" Umbridge simpered from the front of the room.

"Sorry Professor" Orion mumbled, offering the woman a shy smile. He resisted the urge to gag, she was wearing this ridiculous pink concoction and she looked like a toad stuffed into a pink dress that was four sizes too small.

"I shall let it slide this time Mr. Malfoy, but if you're late again I'll have to give you a detention" She said, a sickly sweet smile on her face as she flounced away and flopping down in her chair and looked at him pointedly.

"Thanks Professor" Orion said, sliding into his seat next to Nick and tugged his awful defense book from his bag and flipped to the appropriate chapter.

"Lucky" Nick muttered to him, "She gave Weaselette a detention for being late last class" The fourth year murmured to his friend.

"My dad's a huge donator to the Ministry, plus he works there and is her superior, she like worships Fudge and Fudge worships my dad, she probably doesn't want to piss him off by putting me in detention" Orion murmured in return, keeping his voice pitched low so the toad (as Umbridge was affectionately called by the students-and some of the staff) didn't overhear.

"Probably" Nick agreed, bending over his text and beginning the arduous task of slogging his way through the chapter. Orion, taking a cue from his friend, did the same, mentally thinking of all the curses he could use on the woman as he did so.

Halfway through the very boring defense class, a note landed on Orion's desk. Glancing around, Orion saw Ginny Weasley motioning at him to open it. Biting back an annoyed sigh, the blond boy carefully unfolded the crumpled up parchment, his eyes growing wider as he read the nasty words the girl had written about him and his family. Pushing the note away, he pointedly ignored Weasley, though she continued to toss notes through out the class, angering the blond boy. As yet another note landed on his desk, Orion snapped. Whipping out his wand, he turned and sent a stinging hex at Ginny Weasley, feeling extremely vindicated as it struck her cheek, making the girl yelp.

"Mr. Malfoy!" Umbridge shrieked, her shrill voice making many students wince and some go so far as to cover their ears.

"Detention, tonight with me" She snapped, ignoring the protests that Nick voiced about the notes.

"Don't bother, written words don't hurt people in her opinion" Orion murmured to his friend. "I used a spell, doesn't matter that it was essentially harmless one"

"Your brother's gonna kill you" Nick murmured as the boys began to pack up their bags.

"Mr. Malfoy" Umbridge called, Orion turned to see that she was gesturing for him to come over to her desk. Sighing, Orion gestured for Nick to go on without him as he moved over to Umbridge.

"Yes Professor?" He murmured.

"Your detention is for eight tonight, please be on time" She said, handing him a detention slip, the time written in pink ink. Orion nodded, resisting the urge to crumple the parchment up and instead opted for shoving it in his bag.

"See you tonight then Professor" He said, shifting his bag and heading off to his next class.

**-Blood-**

"You what?" Orion winced at the angry tone of his brother's voice.

"I have a detention with Umbridge tonight" Orion said, handing his older brother the detention slip.

"Why? How?" Draco asked, looking at the note with a scowl.

"Weaselette" Orion muttered, "She kept sending me nasty notes through class, each one worse then the last, finally I snapped. I hit her with a stinging hex and Umbridge gave me detention" Orion shrugged.

"Did Weaselette get detention?" Draco demanded, still scowling.

"No, Umbridge would've given her one, but she was complaining about the pain of my hex, so Umbridge let her go. Umbridge hates all spells so I got in trouble" Orion shrugged, he wasn't really upset about the detention, he felt rather pleased that he'd managed to hex Ginny, the comments she had been making were inappropriate and rude. He knew, realistically, he should have just told on her and she would have gotten in trouble instead of him but that was no where as good as hexing her, even if it had been just a mild hex.

"Just be careful" Draco muttered, "I've heard some pretty bad things about Umbridge's detentions"

"I know" Orion murmured, "I'll be careful Dray, besides I got to hex Weaselette that makes things pretty much worth it"

Draco just snorted in response, he wasn't surprised Orion had snapped. The young teen was fiercely loyal and he loved his family and wouldn't tolerate anything being said against them, Weaselette had been harassing Orion continually in class and while he didn't like that his brother had responded in such a manner, he wasn't surprised by it. Though Harry Potter didn't technically exist any longer, Orion still had Harry's temper, he just had a bit better control.

At five to eight Orion knocked on the door to Umbridge's office.

"Come in" The Professor's sing-song voice called out. She sounded far to pleased with herself for Orion to feel at all comfortable.

"Hello Professor" Orion said, slipping into the room his eyes widening in shock as he took in her office. The walls were covered in collectable plates all of them housing mewing kittens with large, blue eyes. The office was also painted a garish pink colour, with red and pink pillows spread on a small couch. Shuddering lightly, Orion moved to sit in the desk that she indicated for him.

"You'll be doing lines tonight Mr. Malfoy"* She said, nodding to the top of the desk which was adorned with a stack of parchment and a quill.

"You haven't given me any ink Professor"* Orion murmured, looking at the woman curiously.

"It's a special quill Mr. Malfoy, now I want you to write 'I must not use dangerous spells' until I tell you to stop" The toad-like woman said with a wide smile.

"Err, alright" Orion muttered, picking up the quill and beginning to scratch out the words. Gasping, he very nearly dropped the quill as he felt a sharp pain in his right hand. Looking down just in time he saw the very words he had just written healing on the back of his hand. He looked up at Umbridge in shock, the woman was smiling widely at him, clearly she didn't care that he was a Malfoy at all.

Biting the inside of his lip to keep himself quiet, he began to write the ridiculous statement again, each time cutting himself open only for his hand to heal. He wondered how long it would keep healing before the message in his hand began permanent.

Nearly three hours later Orion stumbled out of detention. Umbridge had been pleased to see the message carved in his flesh and had said he was free, no more detentions. Obviously she had just been making a point, since he had heard that most students were assigned at minimum three days detention with her. Although his detention was only one day, three hours of continually cutting himself open had left Orion with a nasty cut on his already injured hand and he knew it was going to scar, though not nearly as bad as it would have with a week long detention.

Letting out a pained sigh, Orion carefully made his way to the Common Room, wondering how he was supposed to keep this hidden from his brother. He highly doubted he'd be able to considering Draco would notice the minute something was off. Realizing it would be a futile waste of time and energy, Orion made his way straight to the dorm room, ignoring the few older students that called out to him in greeting.

"How was detention?" Draco asked intently as Orion shuffled into the room.

"Not so good" The teen mumbled, yawning tiredly.

"Oh? What did she have you do?" Draco asked, sitting up a bit on his bed, staring at his little brother with narrowed grey eyes now.

"Lines" Orion said, rubbing his eyes with his left hand, which drew Draco's attention to his right hand which was hanging loosely by his side. His eyes widened as he saw the bloodied bandages.

"When did your hand start bleeding?" The older blond gasped, shooting off the bed and to his brother's side. Carefully he manhandled a protesting Orion over to his bed and forced the younger boy down. Ignoring his little brother's babbling, Draco carefully unwound the once-white bandage, staring in horror at what was hidden under it.

"She used a blood quill on you?" He breathed in shock, looking up at Orion, who's lower lip was now trembling. Draco immediately pulled the younger boy into a tight hug, murmuring soothing things as Orion began to sob. The pain must have been horrible, particularly considering Orion's hand was already injured.

"I'm going to get Uncle Sev" Draco finally murmured when his brother had stopped crying and was just hiccuping against his shoulder now. When Orion stiffened and began to shake his head, Draco stilled him with a soft shushing noise. "He needs to know Ori, not only is it illegal for Umbridge to be using a blood quill but he needs to make sure your hand doesn't get any infections or something else" He said softly, carefully detaching his brother's arms from him and slipping out of the room.

Draco nearly sprinted the way to Severus' office, banging inside without even knocking.

"Draco? What is the meaning of this?" Severus snapped, banishing spilt tea from his clothing.

"Umbridge used a blood quill on Orion, his right hand's pretty beat up" The blond panted. Severus dropped his teacup in shock, immediately heading for the Common Room, leaving a house elf to clean up the broken shards of glass, Draco hot on his heels.

Bursting into the Common Room, completely ignoring his startled snakes as he and Draco quickly headed towards the Malfoy boys' shared dormitory. Opening the door, Severus immediately calmed his movements as he saw the upset fourteen year old on the bed.

"Let me see" He murmured, sitting down next to the young blond and unpacking his bandages and salves (both which he always carried with him).

Orion carefully moved his hand so it was sitting on the book Severus had settled in his lap in loo of a proper desk.

"Damn" Severus murmured, carefully waving his wand over the injury to check for infection or other problems.

"W-what?" Orion asked, Draco sitting behind him so he could rest against his older brother.

"This is a very ragged cut" Severus murmured, "Blood quills are designed to cause maximum pain as well as guarantee scaring" The potions' master explained. "It leaves the skin ragged and cuts deep to invite infection" He added. Orion shuddered at Severus' explanation as his brother rubbed his back soothingly. "Normally I'd use Essence of Murtlap* to help sooth your hand and clear up infection but that can interact badly with the salve I've been using on your hand" The dark-haired man explained. "Instead I'm going to use the normal salve and bandage this up with a new bandage. I'm going to floo your father and speak to Albus as well, your regular healer needs to see this" Severus murmured, beginning to carefully apply the salve. Orion winced, pressing hard into Draco's chest as pain began to shoot up his arm, even though Severus was being as gentle as he could be. Thankfully he was soon bandaging the hand and giving Orion a pain reliever potion before giving the teen a small dose of sleeping potion and helping Draco tuck him into bed.

"I'm going to go floo your father and then speak to Dumbledore" Severus murmured to Draco, "I'm also going to write a note dismissing Orion from class tomorrow in order to go to Mungos so Healer Lawrence can see this" He added. Draco nodded, settling himself on his brother's bed and pulling Orion against his chest, unwilling to let his little brother to go for now.

Severus stepped back from the floo as Lucius Malfoy barreled through all sense of propriety forgotten.

"Where is he?" The blond man demanded, his eyes slightly wild as he looked around Severus' quarters.

"Resting in his room with Draco" Severus said keeping his voice soothing as he tried to placate his long time friend.

"I want to see him" Lucius demanded, "And I want her fired and thrown in Azkaban!" Severus had explained everything over the floo call before Lucius had come through to Hogwarts.

"I know Lucius and you will" Severus murmured, "But first we need to speak to Albus and the Ministry" He murmured, "I want Healer Lawrence to take a look at Orion's hand, I've given him the day off class tomorrow so you can take him to Mungos" He explained hastily as the blond glowered at him.

"Fine, take me to Dumbledore" He said, his voice tight as he kept a tight leash on his anger.

**-Blood-**

Dolores Umbridge gave an indignant squawk as she was rudely (in her opinion) awakened by an irate house elf. Frowning as the tiny creature summoned her imperiously to Dumbledore's office she hastily dressed, pulling her obnoxious pink house coat over her far to revealing pink night gown. Stuffing her wide feet in her slippers the woman quickly headed off to the Head Master's office curious as to why she was being summoned. She had gone to bed directly after her detention with Orion Malfoy and had slept right up until she was woken up, ergo she hadn't done anything wrong. Frowning she spoke the password (Chocolate Frogs) to the gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office and headed up the rotating staircase. Knocking on the door she was called inside by Albus jovial voice and she hurried inside.

"You summoned me Head Master?" She said, looking around in surprise as she saw Lucius Malfoy and Severus sitting in front of Albus' desk drinking tea. Lucius Malfoy looked livid and her breath caught in her chest as she wondered if the Malfoy brat had whined to someone about her little punishment.

"Yes Dolores, I'm terribly sorry to get you out of bed at this hour" He said, looking pointedly at her outfit. Lucius snorted at the comment, murmuring something to Severus which caused the man to snort as well. "However, Severus has reported some rather disturbing news about a detention you held with young Mr. Malfoy this evening" Albus murmured, his expression turning from jovial to serious.

Dolores frowned, looking at Albus with what she hoped was a confused expression.

"I had Mr. Malfoy in detention this evening for attacking another student Albus, I set him to do lines that's it" She said with a shrug.

"Liar" Lucius spat scathingly, his silver gaze like molten silver as glowered at her.

"I am not" She said, puffing herself up, much like a toad about to feed, "I assigned your son to do lines" She hissed, flinching back as the man rose.

"You used a blood quill on my son" He spat, moving to tower over her, his magic crackling angrily around him.

"I-I" She stammered, stepping away from the angry man.

"I saw the evidence myself Dolores, Orion will be excused from classes tomorrow to go to St. Mungos to be treated by his healer since his right hand was badly damaged this summer and your bloody quill has aggravated the injury" Severus snapped, standing up and placing a hand on Lucius' shoulder placatingly.

"You have no proof that I used a blood quill on him. Yes I had the lad in detention, but he only wrote lines" Dolores shrieked, causing the three men to flinch back from her loud tones.

Albus looked at the three adults over his steepled fingers thoughtfully.

"I can solve this" He murmured, "Twinkle" He called out, smiling as the elderly house elf appeared in front of him.

"Yes Master?" The aged elf asked, his grammar surprisingly good, "What can Twinkle be doing for you?"

"I'd like you to go to Professor Umbridge's office and bring me the lines written by Orion Malfoy this evening as well as any dark artifacts that you can find" He said.

"Yes Master, Twinkle will be right back" With a soft crack the elf disappeared, leaving the three men slightly smug and the woman frantic. She had taken no pains to hide the quill, assuming none of the children she used it on would be stupid enough to report her. Of course the one that did report her was the one that was safest from her and the Ministry's wrath. In fact Cornelius would be livid if he found out she hurt the Malfoy brat since he lived in Lucius Malfoy's deep pockets. Another crack startled her out of her thoughts as Twinkle reappeared next to Albus, snapping his fingers and causing her items to appear on the desk in front of the Head Master. She sucked in a harsh breath as Albus carefully picked up the red quill, and checking it over curiously before putting it down on his desk and casting a few spells on it. The man frowned, casting dark eyes on Dolores before looking at Severus.

"Severus please call the Ministry and have them send over some Aurors" The man said, his tone serious as he began examining the parchment that Orion had written on.

"I think it prudent that you get a Healer's statement on young Orion's injury tomorrow Lucius" Albus murmured, "As well as some photographic evidence perhaps" He suggested. Lucius nodded, his lips thinning into a straight, annoyed line.

"May I go see my son now Head Master? I'd like to make sure he is alright" The blond haired man asked.

"Of course Lucius, Severus you'll need to go as well so Lucius can get into the Common Room, I shall keep Madame Umbridge here until the aurors appear" Albus murmured, watching the two men leave the room just as Kingsley and Tonks flooed in, unsurprisingly accompanied by an irate Cornelius Fudge. Sighing, Albus began to explain what had happened while Dolores tried to get her two cents in.

**-Blood-**

Lucius sighed as he sat down gingerly on the edge of Orion's bed. He gently picked up his son's hand which was resting on the top of the blankets. The young teen made a pained noise and his eyes flickered open. His movement awoke his brother, as Draco was still in Orion's bed, holding his younger brother against him.

"Dad?" Orion murmured tiredly as Draco looked around trying to figure out what was going on.

"Hey kiddo" Lucius said softly, letting go of Orion's hand to reach over and brush the bangs from his face.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked curiously, a bit more awake then his brother.

"Severus flooed me about what happened to Orion" Lucius said with a smile as Draco nodded in recognition.

"Sev told me he'd floo you" Draco mumbled, yawning tiredly.

"Dad?" Orion mumbled, holding his arms up, clearly wanting a hug.

"Yea buddy?" Lucius said, carefully pulling his son from the blankets. Sure Orion was fourteen and he wasn't really supposed to be held or cuddled (or at least he wasn't supposed to like it) but the mind healer had found that the Dursleys had emotionally stunted Orion (or Harry as he used to be) and now the young boy was able to indulge in a lot of his hidden desires and suppressed emotions so Lucius, Narcissa and Draco all cuddled him and Orion seemed to love it, not to mention they'd missed out on fourteen years of not being able to cuddle their son and were desperately making up for lost time.

"Hurts" Orion mumbled, despite the pain potion that Severus' had given him.

"Blood quills tend to do that" Lucius said, settling his son in his lap and cuddling him as Draco stretched and roused himself. Orion mumbled incoherently and cuddled against his father, his face pressed into Lucius' chest tiredly. Lucius smiled lightly and began to rub Orion's back, trying to lull his son back to sleep. He hated that he was enjoying this moment, but it was a new experience being able to sooth his son like this and he relished these times, even though he hated the circumstances that had led to his son seeking him out for comfort. As Orion relaxed against his father, Lucius glanced at Draco who looked torn between pissed off and pained.

He knew his son was disappointed in himself for not protecting Orion better but Lucius didn't blame Draco at all.

"Its not your fault Draco" He murmured to his son, still rubbing Orion's back.

"I let him get hurt" He murmured, "I knew Umbridge gave weird detentions but I let him go anyway"

"Draco, Umbridge was a Professor at this school she assigned Orion a detention, he had to go, there was nothing anyone barring Dumbledore could have done to get him out of it. Even Severus doesn't have the authority to get him out of a detention" Lucius murmured to his son. "You took care of him when he got back from his detention, you alerted Severus and by extension myself and Dumbledore that Umbridge was using a dark and illegal artifact on students, you did everything you could for your brother" He murmured to his upset son.

"I should have done something" Draco muttered, though he looked reassured.

"Orion will be fine Draco, I'll take him to Healer Lawrence tomorrow and she'll check his hand out. Plus thanks to you and Orion, Dolores Umbridge is no longer employed by Hogwarts and will be facing criminal charges of child abuse and knowingly using a dark object on children in her care" Lucius said.

"Good" Draco sighed as Orion fell into a deep sleep in his father's arms. "She was an awful defense teacher"

"I gathered that from your letters, hopefully Dumbledore will get a competent teacher for the rest of the year" Lucius said, carefully tucking Orion back into bed and motioning for Draco to go to his own bed.

"I'm going to head back to the Manor to reassure your mother that everything is alright, I shall be back around nine tomorrow morning to collect your brother" Lucius said, pressing a kiss to Orion's brow and going over to Draco's bed and kissing his oldest son's forehead, ignoring his whine of protest.

"Indulge me" Lucius grumbled as he left the dormitory and headed to Severus' quarters in order to floo home.

"Night Severus, I'll see you tomorrow" Lucius said, smiling at the man who was sprawled tiredly on the couch.

"Night Lucius" Severus mumbled, watching the man disappear in a woosh of emerald flames. Severus sighed, relieved that Orion would be taken care of not to mention he'd finally gotten rid of Umbridge, of course an entire investigation would have to take place now and Cornelius would probably try and muck things up, but hopefully his reliance on Lucius' 'contributions' would prevent him from really attempting to get Umbridge's case dismissed.

* * *

*These lines are similar to those used in _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix _ Between Harry Potter and Dolores Umbridge.

A/N: Like I said, I'm not pleased with this chapter, but I hope you guys like it!


	7. Surviving

**Disclaimer: HP and Co. belong to J.K Rowling, not myself. **

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, I was on vacation in lovely Mexico and had no time to write and/or work on any of my stuff. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Some big bro Draco! and Awesome Malfoy parents.**

**R/R!**

Chapter 7: Surviving

Lucius flooed back home a scowl on his face as he stepped from the green flames into the classically decorated welcoming room of Malfoy manor. His wife was pacing the floor anxiously, completely heedless of her less the perfect appearance, her normally pristine hair was tousled from her fingers running through it, her clothing was askew and her mascara was running from when she had been crying with nerves,

"How is he?" The Malfoy mother demanded, her blue eyes flashing as she looked at her startled husband.

"He's shaken" Lucius murmured, "I'm going to take him to Mungos tomorrow to see Healer Lawrence" He explained to Narcissa, his arms automatically wrapping around her.

"I can't believe that bloody woman" Narcissa hissed, hands balling into angry fists, she had been with Lucius when Severus' had flooed them and she was far from impressed.

"She's in a holding cell in the Ministry, the Minister and two aurors arrived in Dumbledore's office just as I was leaving to check on Orion" Lucius explained, "She'll be facing multiple charges and I intend to get some pictures of Orion's hand tomorrow as well as a medical report" He added as he and Narcissa walked through the halls of the Manor towards their private sitting room.

"Good, that woman deserves the kiss for using a blood quill on school children" She snapped, sitting down on the couch and summoning a house elf to bring her and Lucius a glass of wine. The Malfoy head seated himself down opposite his wife, accepting the glass from the elf and staring into the flames of the already started fire.

"What time are you going back to pick him up tomorrow?" Narcissa asked curiously, sipping her wine lightly.

"I'm going to floo into Sev's office for nine tomorrow morning" Lucius murmured, a livid expression on his face.

"I'll meet you at Mungos" She murmured, "I flooed Tom after you left Lucius, he's extremely angry" She added, "He wanted to go to Hogwarts and get her himself, he's very protective of Ori" Narcissa murmured, her tone becoming affectionate towards the end of her sentence.

"He is" Lucius agreed, "I hope that Tom and Orion are able to foster a relationship. I know Tom very much wants to play a role in his life" Lucius murmured. Narcissa nodded,

"I hope so as well, it will be difficult for them though, Orion has some particularly bad memories of Lord Voldemort and despite him giving up the mantle of Harry Potter, he'll still have those memories and fears" He said, raking his fingers through his hair.

"Orion may have bad memories of Lord Voldemort but he also has the most open mind I've ever seen" Narcissa murmured, "He'll give Tom a chance, I doubt he'll accept the persona of Lord Voldemort but when will they ever cross paths? Its not like the boys will ever go to Death Eater meetings or be exposed to raids, he'll only ever see Tom in familial settings which should help Orion accept Tom" She murmured, "We'll have to work hard to keep Orion away from the Death Eaters though, Bella in particular is awful" She murmured, "He won't be able to handle that"

"I don't want either of our boys around any of the Death Eaters" Lucius murmured, "Or at least Inner Circle members" Lucius said with a shake of his head. Narcissa nodded in agreement, she didn't want either of her precious boys near the more insane members of the Dark Lords followers.

**-Blood-**

Orion yawned tiredly as Draco escorted him to Severus' office to meet his father. The young Malfoy had had an awful night, after his father had left he had been continually woken up due to the throbbing in his hand and nightmares of Umbridge and her bloody quill. Due to his own lack of sleep, Draco had gotten very little since he had been fussing over his younger brother. Knocking on he portrait quietly, the boys were ushered inside where Severus was waiting for them before he and Draco headed to the Great Hall for breakfast and classes while Orion curled up on Sev's couch and waited for Lucius to floo in.

The blond teen was curled up on the couch dozing when the fire flared to life and his father stepped through, immaculately dressed as always. Lucius looked curiously around Severus' quarters, he knew the potions' master was off at classes but he had expected to see his son already waiting for him. A snuffling noise caught his attention and Lucius glanced at the couch, smirking as he saw Orion sleeping on it, a book resting on his chest where it had fallen. Chuckling, Lucius carefully approached his son, not wanting to startle him as he gently rested a hand on his shoulder, murmuring the boy's name. Silver-blue eyes shot open and Orion looked around wildly before he saw his father and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey Dad" Orion mumbled around a yawn, sitting up and scrubbing at his eyes.

"Morning Orion" Lucius said, picking up the book and closing it after marking the page. "Are you ready to go? Your appointments for nine-thirty" Lucius added. The blond teen let out a sigh, but nodded lightly in response to his father's question. Yawning again, Orion followed Lucius towards the fire and accepted a pinch of powder and tossed it into the flame, calling out the name of the wizarding hospital.

Stepping free of the fire, Orion grinned as he saw his mother waiting by the bank of floos as Lucius stepped out of the fire behind him.

"Mum" Orion mumbled, smiling as Narcissa pulled him into her arms, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"Hey baby" Narcissa murmured against his head, Orion seemed to break down all the Malfoy barriers of decorum and appearance (even in public), not that any of the family members minded, they were all beyond relieved to have the young teen back in the family.

"Are you ready to see Healer Lawrence?" Narcissa asked, stepping away from her son as Lucius went to check Orion in with the Welcome Witch.

"I suppose so, I didn't want to be back here for awhile" Orion admitted, leaning against his mother's side as Lucius gestured for them to follow him towards a more private waiting room.

"I know" Narcissa said, wrapping her arm around Orion's shoulder, letting him rest against her. "But your Father and I will both feel better if you get your hand checked out by Healer Lawrence" She added.

"I know Mum" Orion murmured, letting her guide him into a waiting room chair, sandwiched between his Mother and Father of course.

**-Blood-**

Draco sat down in Potions agitatedly, his silver eyes were flashing between annoyance (at Weasley) and concern. Blaise nudged him slightly, his own warm eyes looked worriedly at his friend. To anyone else, Draco looked like his normally closed off, slightly cold self, but his friends could see that something was seriously bothering his friend.

"What's wrong?" Blaise hissed as the class rose to gather ingredients from the cupboard.

"Just worried about how Orion's appointment is going" Draco responded, carefully gathering up the required items. Blaise nodded in understanding, Draco had filled his friends in on what had happened by the older blond over breakfast, needless to say none of them were impressed and Pansy had had to physically hold Blaise and Theo back when they had wanted to go after the woman. Umbridge had been escorted off the school grounds by the aurors and the Minister late the previous evening, or so Severus had informed Draco earlier that morning.

Draco raised his head tiredly when Severus dismissed them from class. Thankfully the assignment today had required them to work in pairs and Blaise had pretty much done the whole assignment, as Draco had been far to lost in thought and worry over his younger brother to focus on potions.

Checking the time, Draco headed towards the Great Hall for lunch hoping that Orion's appointment had gone well and he was on his way back to school. He felt odd having his little brother so far away from, the entire morning anxiety had gnawed at his gut and he wanted nothing more then to check Orion over himself and then cast a sticking charm on the younger Malfoy and glue him to his side. He knew the fear was irrational, but all he could think about was Orion being in pain, disappearing again, or something like that and the feeling terrified him.

**-Blood-**

Orion sighed as he stepped out of the small examination room, smiling shyly as his parents both stood up and rushed over to him, well rushed as much as a Malfoy could. Narcissa immediately pulled him against her, kissing the top of his head and asking him how he felt. Lucius hovered nervously nearby, waiting for the Healer to come out. They had had the option to go into the room with Orion and the healer, but their son had asked them to wait outside, not wanting to show them the injury that Umbridge had inflicted on him. As much as it pained the Malfoy parents to be shut out of the room, they had respected Orion's desire and waited for him.

Narcissa kept her arms around Orion as Lucius spoke in hushed tones to Healer Lawrence, she watched her husband's brow furrow in worry and annoyance and she frowned, wondering what the discussion was about as she absentmindedly stroked Orion's baby soft hair. Finally Lucius left the Healer's side and joined his small family.

"Shall we go for lunch? Dumbledore has excused you from classes for the day" Lucius said, ruffling his son's hair, ignoring the soft sigh from his son who immediately tried to fix the 'damage' his parents had inflicted.

"Sounds lovely, there's a fantastic new restaurant in Diagon Alley, I went there with Rose Parkinson just the other day" She added at Lucius' inquiring gaze.

Orion nodded his head, absentmindedly rubbing the back of his hand, wincing a bit at the tugging feeling the bandages created. Lucius' hand on his shoulder stilled the movement, and Orion's hands fell complacently to his sides.

"So lunch?" Lucius asked his son, his tone hinting that he'd speak to the pair about his discussion with the Healer in the semi-privacy of the restaurant. Orion nodded, offering his father a small smile, the young Malfoy was still adjusting to a loving family and just the idea that he'd get to go out for lunch with them was a bit shocking. He knew Dudley had often gotten taken out for meals (or ordered in food) with his parents, and when the Weasley family could afford it, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would treat a child to a meal as it was a good time to enjoy some quality time with their children, but never in his life had he anticipated something as simple meal with his parents and just him happening. Smiling to himself, he let Lucius hold onto him tightly before the Malfoy Lord apperated them to Diagon Alley.

**-Blood-**

Orion settled himself in his seat, consciously making sure he was situated between his Father and the wall. As much as he hated being closed off without an escape route, he hated being exposed and in the open more, so he opted for what he saw as the lesser of two evils. Lucius smiled reassuringly at his son before consulting the wine list. Orion returned the smile, pursing the menu though he wasn't overly hungry, he knew he wouldn't be able to get away with not eating a full meal, he was still recovering from years of malnourishment and his family took meal time very seriously.

"Its too bad Draco was unable to join us" Narcissa commented when the waiter returned with a bottle of wine for the Malfoy adults and a glass of pumpkin juice for Orion. Draco would normally be allowed a glass of wine at meals, the Malfoy parents weren't overly strict about so-called underage drinking, but with Orion they were a bit more involved, not to mention he was only fourteen.

"Next time" Lucius murmured, looking over the menu, it wasn't an upscale as they normally ate at, but the menu looked decent enough and Orion looked happy with it. He had complained at previous nights out that he was unable to even understand (or read!) the menu.

"Are we ready to order?" The waiter asked, a pad and quill posed as he prepared to take orders.

"I'll just have the garden salad with the orange vinaigrette" Narcissa murmured, handing the waiter her menu. Lucius ordered the filet mignon, with a side of salad as well. Orion opted for the more teen friendly options, having a club sandwich, which is something he had heard Dudley talk about before and was curious about. As soon as the waiter left, Narcissa pinned her husband with an expectant expression on her aristocratic face.

Lucius let out a faux suffering sigh, knowing exactly what his wife was oh-so subtly hinting at.

"I spoke to the Healer" He said, ignoring Narcissa's expression which now clearly read 'well duh'. Orion stiffened slightly and took a rather large sip of his juice before turning his attention to his father, his face slightly pale.

"And?" Narcissa prompted, carefully placing her napkin in her lap.

"Well we discussed the pictures she took of Orion's injury for the trial against that Umbridge hag" Lucius said, his family nodding along. "We also discussed the effect the blood quill injury will have on Orion's healing, she's not very optimistic at this point" Lucius said, his face pinching slightly at the memory. "The damage inflicted by the quill is often long lasting due to the dark nature of the blood quill. She also said this will cause some setback in Harry's healing, though that's not much of a surprise" Lucius added, Orion nodded, he'd already heard all of this from Healer Lawrence during his appointment.

"What about his mobility?" Narcissa asked, shooting her youngest son a sad, yet reassuring look.

"Its not looking like he'll gain more then forty percent mobility at this point, but she says it could go either way" Lucius explained, "The cuts from the quill have allowed for an infection take root, and with all the previous damage, it is going to be a bit harder to clear up. She's sending a recipe for a new cream to Severus, one that is equipped to deal with the infection, though it will have to be applied twice daily. Once in the evening and once in the morning" Lucius added, his tone turning stern for a moment. Orion pulled a face but nodded in agreement.

"Even if you didn't enforce that Dad, Draco and Uncle Sev would" Orion teased slightly, his older brother was insanely overprotective.

"I know" Lucius said, his tone smug, "I sent Draco a note with Healer Lawrence's owl to Severus" He added, chuckling as his youngest son groaned.

"Dad" Orion whined, shaking his head in annoyance, "He'll never let me out of his sight, it's hard enough to convince Draco to leave me alone in the Common Room" He teased.

Lucius just plastered the trademark Malfoy smirk on his face and sipped his wine, resisting the urge to chuckle at the annoyed look on his son's face.

**-Blood-**

At five in the evening exactly Orion flooed into his Uncle's chambers, directly from the Leaky Cauldron. Stumbling, he was beyond relieved to feel strong arms catch him before he became better acquainted with Severus' stone floor.

"Could you be anymore clumsy?" Draco drawled, carefully righting his younger brother.

"Probably" Orion said, smiling easily at the older teen. Once upon of time a comment like that from Draco would have sent him into a rage, now he knew his brother was just teasing and he enjoyed it.

"How was lunch?" The blond asked when Orion was settled on Severus' couch, the older man had asked the boys to stay for dinner in his chambers, having cleared it with Dumbledore in advance.

"Good, it was nice spending some quality time with Mum and Dad" Orion murmured, a slight goofy smile on his face. Draco chuckled, knowing how much his brother enjoyed things that most people took for granted or even detested.

"I'm just having some food sent up when dinner is served in the Great Hall" Severus said as he came into the sitting room, three tea cups being levitated in front of him along with a teapot.

"Sounds good" Draco said, accepting a cup and taking a deep sip of the scalding liquid. He had needed something to calm him down after his frantic day. Severus had ended up excusing Draco from afternoon classes when it became more than apparent that the teen had absolutely no focus and had been consistently losing points for Slytherin for lack of attention.

"What did the Healer say?" Draco asked curiously, his father had sent a note with a recipe for Orion's new salve, but it hadn't really said what happened with the appointment.

"Just that the infection is going to make it even harder for my hand to recover anymore mobility at this point" Orion said, his face pinching up tightly, he had always held onto the hope that his hand would fully recover, but that dream had been shattered fairly early on, and now the fact that he wouldn't regain even half the mobility he had once had. Draco wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him against him tightly, knowing how upset his brother was at the notion of barely being able to use his hand. Severus sighed, pouring Orion a cup of tea while Draco comforted the young teen. It was a bitter sweet moment for the potions' master. It was incredible seeing the Malfoy boys interact so contently with one another, to see Orion seek and receive comfort from his older brother, but it was bitter knowing the cause of the young boy's pain. He should never have had to endure what he had as Harry Potter, and as much as Severus had once cared for Lily he couldn't believe that she had condoned the act of kidnapping a child and feeding him dangerous potions and casting such powerful spells on him. James, well he had hated (still did) James Potter and he wasn't at all surprised he had done something so vicious. He had been the same way in school, always getting what he wanted and taking anything he could have. But Lily, Lily had always hated that behaviour and when she had finally caved to Potter's advances she had endeavored to change his bratty, spoiled behaviour. At least now Orion was with his rightful family and being treated with dignity, respect and love from his proper family.

After handing Orion his tea, Severus settled on the couch, contently watching the two boys chat and generally soak up each others presence while he enjoyed a relaxing cup of tea after a day of dealing with dunderheads.

**-Blood-**

"Well where do you suppose _he_ went today then?" Ron asked Hermione as he sat in front of the Gryffindor fireplace, a frown marring his features. Hermione shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, a large book propped up in her lap.

"Hermione" Ron snapped, causing the girl to glance up, a disgruntled expression on her face at being disturbed from her studying.

"What Ronald?" She hissed, "I don't particularly care where Har-Orion was today" She said, shaking her head and looking back down at her book, pointedly ignoring the red head.

"Why not?" Ron hissed, Ron obviously cared deeply about all of his former friends actions. He still felt betrayed, having befriended the fake Harry Potter, who had turned out to be nothing more than a slimy snake, a _Malfoy_.

"Because he's entitled to do whatever he likes. Who knows what he was doing, maybe something with his parents or with his Healers" She shrugged.

Ron snorted in annoyance but didn't bother responding. Hermione, well still a bit upset with what had happened, was no where near as aggravated as Ron. The red head detested Malfoys and he was beyond pissed off at his former best mate, he fully intended to make Orion's life a living hell. Hermione rolled her eyes, she could practically see Ron's brain working and she knew he was brooding (again) over Orion and she knew that spelled trouble for Orion in the future.

**-Blood-**

Draco sucked in a harsh breath as he saw Orion's hand. The wound was swollen and inflamed and the words Umbridge had made him write were still carved into the back of his hand. Severus looked beyond pissed off as he carefully applied the freshly made salve to the back of the shaking teen's hand.

Orion hissed as the cool, almost slimy cream touched the back of his hand as Severus carefully rubbed it into the wound before beginning to work the cream in all around his hand. It hurt rather badly especially since the injury was already agitated from Healer Lawrence poking and prodding it earlier. Draco had once again pulled his brother against him and was rubbing his back lightly, mumbling softly in his ear, trying to entertain the younger boy in order to keep his mind off the pain in his hand. Finally Severus began to wrap a fresh bandage around his hand and soon enough the entire treatment was done. Both blonds were sent back to the Common Room in time for curfew, Orion having taken a pain potion as they left Severus' quarters.

Sitting down on his bed, Orion carefully gathered Night to him, marveling at how much his once tiny kitten had grown since he had found him. The kitten was still not yet a full grown cat, but he was no longer a little runt. Draco grinned, chuckling lightly as Orion taunted the kitten with a spare shoe lace.

"He's bigger" Draco commented, the kitten normally wandered the castle and explored so they didn't see a lot of him, though he did manage to sneak into the room quite frequently for cuddles with Orion.

"He's growing up" Orion said, shaking his head at his brother, "Plus he eats like a king, have you seen what the elves give him? He's more spoiled then we are" He said, rubbing the kitten's belly as he rolled over, demanding attention.

Draco just chuckled, he was pleased to see Orion so relaxed and happy, particularly after the disaster that was the yesterday and the stress of that morning.

"You finish your homework?" Draco asked curiously.

"Yea, I just hope it's legible, I wrote it with my left hand" Orion said with a shrug, looking over at his desk which was littered with bits of broken quill and parchment, learning to write with his left hand was exceedingly difficult and the wand work was even harder.

"I'm sure your Professors will understand" Draco murmured, "They gets what going on with your injury and you can't be faulted for trying to adjust to it" He added, pointing his wand at Orion's desk and muttering a cleaning spell. It was just a spell that generally tidied the desk up, getting rid of the trash and leaving Orion's homework alone.

"I hope so, I just have nightmares of getting detention for illegible homework" Orion admitted.

"Don't, Uncle Severus' would never allow that, and neither would our parents" Draco reassured, "No one can fault you for trying, at least you focus on your homework unlike some students" He added with a grin, thinking of a few select Gryffindorks that often finished off their homework in the few minutes before class began.

"True" Orion murmured, smiling at his brother. "Thanks Dray" He added, putting Night down on the bed while he went to begin his night time rituals, the pain potion having made him a bit sleepy.

"No problem kiddo" Draco said with a grin, "Anytime" He added, ignoring his brother's scowl at being called 'kiddo'.


	8. Home for the Holidays

**Disclaimer: HP and Co. belong to J.K. Rowling, not myself.**

**A/N: Here's another chapter for you guys. Sorry about the wait! Hope you enjoy!**

**R/R**

Chapter 8: Home for the Holidays

Draco smiled lightly as he closed the lid to his trunk, finally finished packing everything he figured he'd need for the holidays. The train would be leaving early in the morning and he wanted everything to be set so he didn't have to rush around at some ungodly hour to find his things. Checking the time, Draco was pleased to see he still had an hour or so before dinner although he really had no idea what to do with that time. Orion was with Severus getting his hand re-wrapped since he'd messed up the bandage in Herbology trying to pull his gloves on or something. Grabbing a book, the blond teen headed for the Common Room to see who was still around, he knew the others were probably packing as well, since none of them enjoyed the last minute scramble to find belongings that some other students cough-Gryffindors-cough seemed to do every year.

Settling in the Common Room, Draco was pleased to see Blaise sitting there looking bored.

"All packed then?" Draco asked curiously as he settled down next to his Italian friend.

"Yupp, finished about fifteen minutes ago" Blaise said with a small grin. "Theo's still trying to find all his stuff and Vince and Greg haven't started yet" He added.

"Ah, Orion still needs to pack, I promised to help him later since he's with Sev right now" The blond murmured, summoning a chess board and placing it between him and Blaise. Chess was always a good way to kill some time.

"Why is he with Professor Snape?" Blaise asked curiously as the pieces set themselves up.

"Messed up his bandage in Herbology trying to get his gloves on" Draco said with a smirk, "So Sev said he'd re-wrap it and apply the potion now since tonight might be a bit busy and stressful for everyone with tomorrow being the beginning of holidays"

"Ah" Blaise nodded, "Makes sense" He added as he sent one of his pieces across the board, not really paying attention to what he was doing.

"Are you excited to be going home?" Draco asked Blaise rather suddenly. He knew the Italian teen loved going home to his house in Italy but he also knew how Blaise felt about his mother's constant stream of men.

"I'm actually rather excited" Blaise murmured, "Shockingly my mother is currently single so it'll just be me and her" A goofy grin gracing his face as he thought of the first holiday in a long time where it would just be him and his mother.

"Oh Wow" Draco murmured, looking surprised. "Are you still coming to the New Years party at the Manor?" He asked curiously.

"Of course" Blaise said with a smirk and raised eyebrow. "Wouldn't miss it for the world Dray, you know that"

"I was just checking, it will be a bit different this year" The blond explained, "My father wants to officially introduce Orion since this summer was not a good time" He added at Blaise's inquiring look.

"Ah, that should be interesting" Blaise murmured, staring intently at the board as the Common Room door slid open and Orion walked in. Draco glanced up, grinning brightly as he saw his younger brother. Despite having known about Orion since June he still felt a small, happy flutter in his chest every time he saw the younger teen. I

"Hey" Draco murmured as Orion flopped down on the couch next to him and immediately snuggled into his side. He was much more comfortable with Draco now and had begun seeking physical reassurance of his brother's love and affection. Draco wrapped an arm around the younger blond who mumbled a hello and stared aimlessly at the chess board.

"You okay?" Draco asked softly, glancing worriedly at Blaise.

"Sore and a bit worried" Orion murmured, his eyes half closed. Draco nodded in understanding, getting his hand worked on always bothered his younger brother and going back to the Manor for Yule and meeting 'Uncle Tom' was extremely stressful for Orion. Shrugging in Blaise's direction he moved a piece on the board, a malicious grin on his face as he put his friend in the 'check' position.

"What?" Blaise growled, immediately examining the board. How the hell had he missed that? Draco chuckled as Blaise started trying to counter the move though he figured his friend would be unable to.

"How long till Dinner?" Pansy's voice asked from behind Draco. Startling both blonds, Draco spun his head around to gape at the girl.

"Where the hell did you come from?" The older blond gasped, placing a hand over his heart as if to calm it.

"My dormitory room" Pansy said with a grin as Draco rolled his eyes at her. "Well?" She asked, cocking out her hip hand resting on it as she looked at the three boys.

"Half an hour" Orion mumbled, checking the clock above the fire. The young blond was still snuggled up against Draco and tired but he figured he'd better answer Pansy's question since neither Blaise nor Draco seemed capable at the moment.

"Thank you" Pansy said with a grin before she settled down on the chair opposite the couch and the current chess game.

"Welcome" Orion mumbled as he let his own eyes drift back to the game. It was pretty funny since Blaise was still trying to figure out how Draco had put him in check and how to get himself out of the position.

**-Blood-**

"Done" Orion said with a relieved sigh has he closed his trunk. After dinner Draco had helped him finish packing his trunk, which had proven a lot more difficult then it had used to be since his older brother was such a bloody perfectionist. Draco had been horrified to hear about how he packed when he had been in Gryffindor and had decided to give him a tutorial on proper packing methods. Despite how ridiculous the whole scenario was, Orion was still pleased to be spending some private time with his brother before going home tomorrow. He felt a familiar flutter in his stomach, one part excitement and one part nerves. He was so happy to have a place to call home but he was also extremely freaked out at the prospect of meeting his new godfather. He really wasn't sure what to think of that situation, he still felt like he was getting used to his whole new family but to know that the Dark Lord was his godfather was just beyond overwhelming. Plus what was he supposed to do about Sirius? He still cared deeply for the man though he had yet to speak to him about any of this. He knew Sirius knew since it was in the Prophet and he was sure Dumbledore had also informed the man. He just hoped he could maintain a relationship with Sirius, he wasn't sure he could handle the man hating him. Shaking his head Orion pushed the depressing thoughts away, there was no sense in stressing over these things right now. That was one thing he and his therapist had discussed in-depth. The woman had been adamant that Orion stop stressing and worrying about things he had no control over, it was a hard thing to do but in the long run it would be beneficial for him.

Draco watched his brother curiously for a moment before double checking to make sure they were as packed as they could be. He was a bit worried about Orion with everything that would happen over the Holidays. Yule at Malfoy Manor was by no means a small affair, there were dinners and parties, political things and all sorts of people in and out of the Manor and he was a bit worried that Orion might not handle it all that well. Plus there was the whole issue of meeting Tom, which was going to be extremely stressful for the young blond as well. Biting his lip he shrugged it off, there was nothing he could really do beyond be there for Orion and support him through everything and that was what he would do.

Both brothers spent the remainder of the evening in a pensive silence, both extremely concerned about what the coming weeks would offer.

**-Blood-**

Sirius Black was gaping at the letter he'd jus received from a rather proud and intimidating looking eagle owl. His best friend and packmate Remus Lupin was reading the letter over his shoulder, eyebrows slowly making their way higher on his forehead as he read.

"An invite to Malfoy Manor for Yule" Remus breathed, it was a statement not a question.

"What should we do?" Sirius asked, he wanted nothing to do with the Malfoys, with his cousin Narcissa, but after everything that he had heard this summer he did really want to see Har-Orion. It had hurt a lot to find out what had happened all those years ago. To learn that Lily and James had done something so atrocious, something so DARK. Neither of them had believed it until Albus had told them in person, neither of them willing to believe more trash from the Prophet. It had hurt so much, Sirius had been devastated to learn that his godson, the little boy-turned-man that he loved was, in fact, the missing Malfoy child. It sickened and shocked him, though he did not blame Orion at all, that poor child had been through hell, lived a lie his entire life and Sirius wasn't about to add any more grief or weight to his shoulders. No, shockingly enough Sirius was angry at Lily and James, frankly he was disgusted with them and had said as much to Albus.

"Should we go?" Remus asked, his soft voice breaking through Sirius' depressing thoughts. After a moment of debate, Sirius nodded.

"We go" He murmured, "Despite everything, Orion is our cub, he is still my godson and everything and I will not abandon him. He probably needs us more then ever now and we will be there for him. I don't care that he's not really Harry Potter or really James and Lily's son. He's a hurt child who's had everything torn from him and we will support him" Sirius said passionately as Remus nodded in agreement.

"I'll respond then" The werewolf said with a small smile. Sirius nodded happily. He and Remus were going to see their cub!

**-Blood-**

Orion and Draco stepped off the Hogwarts Express onto the crowded platform surrounded by their group of friends. Orion pressed closer to his brother in shock, he hated crowds and the huge crowd of parents and students on the platform made him extremely nervous. Draco squeezed the side of his arm reassuringly before leading Orion over to where their parents stood, aloof, amongst the other Slytherin parents.

This was a novel experience for Orion, having an actual family who gave a damn about him waiting on the platform and he was stunned by it. In that single moment when he lay eyes on his mother and father and saw their happy smiles (which were quickly hidden behind the stoic masks) he felt almost overwhelmed and he smiled in return as he quickly hurried towards his parents. Draco chuckled, seeing the sheer glee and happiness on Orion's face and hurried after his not-so-nervous little brother. It was exciting and adorable all at the same time, it seemed Orion was finally beginning to accept their family and the young blond definitely fit right in.

"Hello" He greeted both his parents as he moved to stand near them, Malfoys didn't show emotions in public, though that rule seemed fairly relaxed for Orion. However he knew a bigger and more personal greeting would take place at Malfoy Manor as soon as they headed out.

Lucius wrapped his arm around Orion's middle, as Narcissa did the same with Draco as they prepared to apperate out. Quick goodbyes were bid to their friends with promises to see one another over the Holidays and with loud, simultaneous cracks the Malfoy family apperated back to the Manor.

Landing in the personal family room, the family quickly settled themselves on different pieces of furniture, leaving the luggage for the elves to deal with. Orion yawned, settling himself on the couch next to Lucius and across from Narcissa and Draco.

"How did your last week of classes go?" Narcissa asked once an elf had arrived and served them refreshments.

"Fine, a bit boring though" Draco responded as he let his Mother fuss over him for a moment. He loved coming home and spending time with his family. Everything was so much more relaxed and comfortable. People seemed to think his parents were abusive, which they weren't at all, he figured people assumed they were cruel because of the whole 'being dark' thing, but what did your political beliefs have to do with your parenting ideals?

"Most of the Professors seemed sort of distracted this last week" Orion explained, "So it was mostly theoretical work and quizzes, nothing challenging" He added.

"Ah, they probably look forward to vacation as much as you students do" Lucius mused as he sipped his wine thoughtfully.

"Probably" Draco echoed, chuckling lightly as Orion rolled his eyes. Despite the relaxed atmosphere in the room, there was an underlying tension in Orion which was probably associated with him having to meet Tom soon. Despite Orion's apprehension, Draco was rather excited to see the man he saw as an Uncle. He had missed talking to Tom and just spending time around the man, most people were terrified of him or enamored with his power (his Aunt Bellatrix to be exact) but Draco enjoyed spending time with the Dark Lord, he learned a lot and when Tom was just being Tom he was actually pretty fun.

"Are you alright love?" Narcissa asked Orion as she watched him twist his hands in the hem of his shirt, robes having been discarded the moment the boys had walked in the house.

"Just nervous" Orion murmured softly, offering his Mother a shy smile.

"There's nothing to be worried about Ori" Narcissa said gently, immediately figuring out what was bothering her youngest son. "Everyone is very excited to see you and reconnect with you, your godfather in particular is having a very difficult time staying out of this room. I believe he's pacing the halls as we speak, hoping to be invited in" She added, glancing at the door with a cheeky smile. Orion stiffened noticeably shrinking into Lucius's side visibly as he turned to stare at the door, face pale. Lucius sighed, gently stroking his son's soft hair.

"Relax Orion, Tom means you no harm. He's your godfather and he cannot wait to meet you" Lucius said gently as he tried to reassure his nervous son.

"I-I dunno. I know I said I'd meet him but...I'm scared" The young teen said softly, looking up at his parents with wide, worried eyes.

"I know love" Lucius murmured as Narcissa and Draco watched intently. "But I promise you that all Tom wants is to meet you and create a relationship with you. He is your godfather, he is the person your Mother and I trusted with your life should anything happen to us. Just like Draco with Severus or Lily and James' trust in Sirius Black" Lucius murmured. "Tom is Lord Voldemort, he has done horrible things, things that this family has supported in the past and supports now. However with our family and in private he is Tom Riddle, a member of this family, your godfather and someone I consider to be a brother" Lucius said gently. Orion huffed softly and pushed against Lucius' side before glancing up at his Father and looking around at his family. Thus far these people hadn't led him astray and he did trust them. Sighing softly he nodded lightly.

"He can come in" He murmured, looking at Draco for reassurance. Draco grinned brilliantly and rose off of the couch to go and open the door to the family room.

"Uncle Tom?" The blond's voice sounded in the hall. "You can come in" He said, grinning as his Uncle stepped into the room.

Orion sucked in a breath, staring in shock and awe at the tall man in front of him. Tom Riddle looked nothing like the Lord Voldemort from the graveyard. The man was tall and well built with luscious dark-brown hair. His skin was slightly tan and he had a solid build. The only thing that reminded Orion that this man was Lord Voldemort was the dangerous and flashing red eyes. Draco grinned brightly and tossed his arms around his Uncle and let the man pull him close.

"Hello Draco" Tom murmured, his voice as deep and soothing, another shock to Orion considering what he had heard in the graveyard.

"Tom" Lucius inclined his head while Narcissa rose to hug the man. Lucius would have gotten up but Orion was plastered to his side and Lucius didn't want to move the young teen who was clearly terrified.

"Lucius, thank you once again for allowing me to stay for the Holiday" The tall man murmured, his red eyes on Orion as he kissed Narcissa's hand.

"You know the Manor is always open to you" Lucius chide gently, "Severus will be joining us later in the week once he secures the lab at the school"

"Good, I have many things to discuss with him" Tom murmured, sitting down in the chair closest to Lucius and Orion.

"Tom, I'd like to re-introduce you to my youngest son and your godson, Orion" Lucius said, gently nudging his son to try and get him to interact with the man.

"It is a pleasure to see you once again Orion, you can call me Uncle Tom, Draco does" Tom said gently, looking at the shaking teen with concerned eyes.

Orion sucked in a deep breath and looked at the man, it was easy to see him as a completely different person than the man in the graveyard since they looked nothing alike. Opening his mouth, Orion realized he really had no idea what to say to the man and just made an embarrassed squeaking noise. Tom chuckled lightly, grinning at his godson.

"I want to apologize formally for everything that I did to you when you were disguised as Harry Potter" Tom said suddenly. "I had no idea that you were my godson. I would never, ever hurt you Orion. I feel disgusted with myself for my actions as well as disgusted with Dumbledore and the Potters for subjecting you to everything that you have had to endure under the guise of the Potter heir" He said, his eyes flashing dangerously. Orion gaped, Tom Riddle, Lord bloody Voldemort had just apologized to him. Shaking his head he stared at the man, before nodding his head.

"I-I understand" He said in a shaky voice. "I am a new person now I suppose, or back to who I was supposed to be all along. I can't say I understand the reasons for your actions against Harry Potter, but from here on out I promise to only judge you based on your actions towards Orion Malfoy" The blond said suddenly, surprising his family.

"Well then I can only hope I live up to your high standards. I promise as your godfather to spoil you rotten" Tom said with a wink, earning a shy giggle from Orion. Orion wasn't comfortable with Tom yet, but as long as he only saw him as Tom Riddle he could see himself forming a relationship with the man. It was like his father said, this was the person his parents trusted with his life should anything happen to them. So he did want to get to know and trust the man, but he knew it would be a process and he was still recovering from everything that had happened to him. However, Lord Voldemort may have tried to kill him, but he had never done what the Dursleys had, and that made him a lot easier to forgive then he had initially anticipated. Smiling Orion snuggled back against Lucius' side and drifted to sleep, emotionally exhausted from the last few days.

Tom watched Orion drift to sleep and felt amazingly pleased that the lithe teen had felt relaxed enough in his presence to fall asleep in front of him.

"How was school Draco?" The man asked curiously as an elf appeared quietly to offer him a glass of wine. Taking the glass, Tom turned his attention back to his nephew while sipping the slightly tart liquid.

"Good, a bit boring, but it's nice having Orion there" Draco responded as he glanced at his dozing younger brother.

"I imagine it is very different having him around" Tom mused curiously.

"Yea it is" Draco said with a grin, "But I like it. I find myself always looking out for him, making sure he's alright and stuff" He murmured, "I never expected to be that way with anyone, but I guess its instinct with him" He nodded at the sleeping teen.

"Probably" Lucius pipped up, "He is your little brother who we've only just found, we all find ourselves looking out for him and feeling protective urges" He added as Tom nodded.

"He's the baby of the family" Narcissa said suddenly, joining in the conversation rather unexpectedly. "It's only natural for us all to feel those emotions. He was torn from us brutally and we thought we'd lost him, only to realize he's been within our grasps all this time. We all feel like we have much to make up for. Lucius and myself as parents, Draco as a big brother and Tom as his godfather and potential mentor" She said, watching as all three men nodded in understanding.

"Don't let him hear you calling him a baby, he gets so annoyed when I call him things like 'kiddo' or 'baby brother'. He hates it" Draco said with a smirk. Lucius snorted in amusement, shaking his head at the antics of his oldest son. Draco was a fantastic older brother and he was so pleased to know he was looking after the youngest Malfoy at school, not that he'd ever doubted Draco.

"I'm going to put him to bed, he's completely out" Lucius murmured, standing up and carefully settling Orion into his arms, holding him bridal style with his head pillowed on his shoulder. "I shall return once he's settled" He added before walking briskly yet carefully out of the room. The trio watched him leave before resuming quiet conversation, most of it directed at the young teen who had so easily wormed his way into their carefully protected hearts.

* * *

**A/N: So, the first interaction between Tom and Orion goes fairly smoothly! In the next chapter we see Sirius, Remus and Severus along with Tom's take on his first time seeing Orion in fourteen years.**


	9. Godfathers and Dogfathers

**Disclaimer: HP and Co. belong to J.K Rowling, not myself. **

**A/N: I've had a few reviewers asking me what really happened with Orion/Harry and the whole Potters thing. First of all that will be address in the story. However, here are the basic facts:  
Orion Pollux Malfoy was born August 5th, 1981  
Harry James Potter: July 31st, 1980  
The Real Harry Potter dies on August 1, 1981-Accidental death  
James and Lily Potter visit St. Mungos hospital on August 7th, 1981. Orion Malfoy is subsequently kidnapped (details in chapters) and is given a dose of aging potion as well as charmed to look exactly like the late HP. No one is aware of the real HP's death beyond Albus Dumbledore and the Healer who treated the child.  
-Hope this clears things up. **

**Also, for those of you who dislike my portrayl of Orion, I appreciate your reviews, but if you dislike the story or the characterization, hit the back button and search for something else. Negativity is not necessary!  
For those of you who love the story and continue to support me, thank you!**

**R/R**

Chapter 9: Godfathers and Dogfathers

"Well?" Lucius asked Tom expectantly as he stood in the doorway to the Chambers that the man used while he was visiting the Malfoy family. Tom huffed out a breath, eyeing Lucius warily as if he didn't trust the man.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tom asked finally, hands clenching nervously against his sides.

"It will be fine, I already spoke to him. He's not keen on the idea but he understands. Besides you said you wanted to spend time with him and get to know him better" Lucius pointed out. "This is the perfect opportunity for that" The tall blond pointed out smugly. Tom sighed, biting his lip nervously, it was extremely rare for the Dark Lord to show any emotions like this, but this was a fairly surreal situation.

"Fine" He finally grumbled, running his hands through his thick, dark hair. "But you owe me Lucius" He added, red eyes flashing in a manner that caused the blond man to wince.

"Deal" Lucius finally grumbled, though he was smiling lightly at the man.

"How is he then?" Tom asked Lucius as he followed the man down the hall towards the family room.

"Not feeling that well" Lucius responded, "I suppose he over exerted himself playing in the snow like that yesterday, not to mention he got absolutely soaked so he has a rather nasty cold"

"How did he get so wet?" Tom asked with a frown. He couldn't imagine Draco or Lucius allowing Orion to do something that led to an illness or injury.

Lucius flushed lightly, his eyes downcast in something akin to embarrassment.

"Well..." He trailed off, "Orion sort of convinced us all to have a snowball fight"

Tom gaped at Lucius. They had had a what?

"Y-Wha? Snowball fight?" He finally stammered out, still gaping at the blond man in shock.

"He...he said he really wanted to have one. Apparently the Weasley family always does and he said he missed it" Lucius said defensively. They were striving to make Orion's christmas with his family exactly what he wanted and to make the younger blond feel comfortable. Tom was still staring at Lucius in shock before he began to laugh, heartfelt chuckles rolled from between pale lips as Tom imagined Lucius and Narcissa running around in the snow tossing balls of it at their sons. Draco he could at least see doing that, but the Malfoy Lord and his wife?

"I'll have to see Draco's memory of that event" The Slytherin heir mused ignoring his friend's scandalized expression.

"You will not" Lucius grumbled before changing the subject. "How do you feel about spending the day with Orion?" He asked his friend suddenly.

"I'm looking forward to it" Tom murmured, "I'm a bit apprehensive but we did get off to a fairly good start and I'd like to get to know him a bit better, as you mentioned before"

"I think he's looking forward to some time with you as well Tom, he's a very kind and forgiving young man and I think you'll find he's willing to put things behind him and work on a relationship with you" Lucius replied with a grin.

"I'd like that" Tom murmured as he and Lucius stepped into the family room. Orion was curled up on the couch, a thick blanket tucked around him and a fire roaring in the grate. Draco was piling books next to him and generally fussing.

"I can stay" The blond offered worriedly. Orion let out a sigh and fixed his brother with a stare. It was clear that they'd had this discussion for awhile now.

"I'm fine Dray" Orion murmured, extracting his hand from the thick blanket to pinch the bridge of his nose. "You promised Blaise you'd help him go shopping for his mother's present and you should go. I just have a cold" The young blond insisted.

"Well...if you're sure" Draco finally murmured, still completely unaware of his audience.

"I'm sure, now go" Orion pinned his brother with a fierce glare. Draco shrunk back but nodded, "I'll see you when I get home" The blond murmured, kissing his brother's downy hair before stepping away and flooing to Zabini Manor. He'd be back in time for dinner since Sirius and Remus were supposed to be arriving that evening for the next few days.

"Bye" Orion called as he watched his brother disappear in a flash of green flames.

Coughing lightly as he entered the room, Lucius attracted his son's attention to him, not wanting to startle the ailing teen. Orion's head whipped around and his eyes went wide before he calmed and grinned.

"Hey" He said to his Father and inclined his head to his godfather. His throat was a bit scratchy and he had a temperature but all in all he wasn't horribly ill. However, his family was overly protective and worried hence the being tucked in on the couch with the pile of books next to him so he didn't have to move.

"Hello" Lucius murmured, "Your Uncle has agreed to keep you company while the rest of us our out today" He said softly. Orion nodded, he didn't think he needed someone to babysit him but he understood his family's fear so he tolerated it. Plus it might be a good chance for him to get to know his godfather.

"Hello Orion, I hear you have a bit of a cold" Tom said as he stepped into the room alongside Lucius.

Orion grinned and inclined his head to the man, eyes dancing playfully.

"Hi" He said shyly, "Yea, playing in the snow might not have been the best idea, but it was a lot of fun" The young blond said as his hands twisted in his blankets before he glanced up at the man and his father.

"I'm off then, your mother is having tea at the Parkinsons and I have a meeting with Minister Fudge, we should all be home before dinner since Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin will be joining us for the evening and for our celebration tomorrow morning" Lucius murmured as he gave Orion a quick hug and pressed a kiss to his slightly fevered brow.

"See you then Dad" Orion murmured, shooting a slightly anxious glance at Tom.

"I shall see you this evening then Lucius, I wish you luck in dealing with our esteemed Minister" Tom said, his lips twisting over the words 'esteemed' and 'Minister'.

Lucius laughed as he stepped into the fire with a pinch of floo powder. Laughing softly he took a moment to compose himself before calling out the address for the Minister's office and in a whirl of flames he was gone.

**-Blood-**

"So..." Tom trailed off as he sat down in the chair opposite the couch Orion was settled on. "How's school going?" The man asked, it was clear he was uncomfortable with the conversation but was forging though.

"It's going" Orion murmured, "I sort of like re-doing my fourth year because I didn't get to focus on my grades and stuff to much last time I did it" The young blond said, eyes downcast as he picked at the blankets wrapped around him.

"Makes sense, last year wasn't exactly easy for you and I know my actions certainly didn't help you at all" Tom murmured as Orion drew in a surprise gasp. He knew his godfather had apologized and explained everything the night he had arrived home from school, but it was nice to get the reassurance.

"I know" Orion murmured softly, "I understand what happened" He murmured, "What with the Potters and everything. Like I said, I'm willing to get to know you as Orion Malfoy and work past what you did to Harry Potter" The young blond murmured.

"I know" Tom said with a grin, "I'm very relieved to know that you still have that opinion on the matter" He murmured gently. He was extremely relieved about how things were going with Orion, he wanted a good relationship with his godson and he would fight for one. He could admit he was a bit concerned about Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather coming to the house because he had no idea how that would effect Orion and his current mindset, but he also knew the young teen cared greatly for the Black Lord and he would try his best to tolerate the man and his pet werewolf. He just hoped that if everything worked out between the Malfoys and the Blacks that his followers could behave themselves. Bella in particular had a grudge against Sirius and Fenrir was not a fan of Remus since he saw the man as part of his pack and basically a traitor to werewolf kind.

Orion flashed Tom a shy grin as he settled down in his blankets, head leaning against the couch as he eyed the monster pile of books Draco had left him warily. He wished that the Malfoy house was equipped with some muggle technology since all he really wanted to do was curl up and watch a movie, but he knew that his Father loathed all things muggle and that muggle electronics tended to go haywire around magic, so even if Lucius agreed to a TV and DVD system it was doubtful it would work.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked worriedly, seeing the apprehensive expression on his godson's face.

"Draco brought me all my homework but I don't feel up to doing it" Orion admitted softly as he glanced at his Uncle. "I'm bored but there's not really a lot to do here when you're not feeling well" He admitted. Tom nodded in understanding, it was true that most wizarding homes were equipped with old fashion means of amusement such as reading, chess or sports activities, but for an ailing young man like Orion, none of those things were appealing. Pursing his lips he set about for an activity he and Orion could do that kept the young blond warm and dry on the couch but didn't over tax him.

"I have a suggestion" He said suddenly, "It's something most people do for their younger children, but you didn't grow up in a wizarding home so I'm assuming you've never been exposed to a magical storybook before" Tom said with a grin.

Orion's eyes went wide but he shook his head, suddenly curious and a bit excited to see what Tom was planning.

Grinning to himself the Dark Lord summoned a house elf and asked the creature to bring him a specific book from the library.

"I'll have to sit with you" He murmured to his godson once the creature had reappeared and handed him a large, well-used volume. Orion looked nervous for a moment but it was clear his desire to see what was going on won over his fear of the man in front of him and he nodded his agreement.

"Okay" He whispered, shifting slightly to make room for Tom while keeping himself cocoon in blankets.

Smiling lightly, Tom settled himself next to his godson and opened the book in his lap, murmuring a spell and tapping the page with his yew wand, the book suddenly came to life, the characters and colours popping off the pages as the story began right before their eyes.

"Oh" Orion gasped, suddenly enthralled with the story he was seeing. It was exactly like a muggle movie, only better because the characters actually interacted with the reader.

**-Blood-**

Tom grinned to himself as he closed Orion's defense textbook, he wasn't grinning about the book, no that thing was bloody awful. He was grinning about the fact that his godson had fallen asleep and now had his head resting in his lap. Orion had been utterly fascinated with the storybook and they had watched three stories before he had begun to grow tired and had begun to rest heavily against Tom. About halfway through the fourth story the teen had fallen asleep, using his Uncle as his pillow as he let his fever get the best of him. Tom, terrified to move and thus disturb the sleeping teen had begun reading Orion's textbooks, curious to see what the boys were learning about.

Running his fingers through Orion's hair, the Dark Lord resisted the urge to toss the defense book into the fire and burn the useless thing. He couldn't believe the Ministry was allowing this woman to teach students this rubbish. Well, had been allowing, since Dolores Umbridge was sitting in a holding cell in Azkaban awaiting trail for the use of an illegal blood quill on underage students, Orion being one of them. Anger twisted in Tom's gut as he glanced down at Orion's still bandaged hand which was fisted in the blankets, he had nearly destroyed his room when Lucius had showed him the medical report and pictures that the Healers had taken for the former Undersecretary to the Minister's trial. He had been disgusted and appalled, he was a bloody Dark Lord and even he wouldn't condone the use of a blood quill on innocent school children, Weasley perhaps, but not innocents. The fact that this had all occurred right under Dumbledore's bloody nose just strengthened his resolve to not only take over the Ministry of Magic but to unseat the man who was currently Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Glancing down at Orion, Tom felt his anger evaporate for the time being, it was very difficult to remain well and truly angered and annoyed in the presence of the young teen. Orion had a very calming aura and his mere presence was enough to relax Tom and allow him to focus on the good things going on in his life.

Sighing contently he allowed his mind to wander back to his thoughts from directly after his first meeting with Orion when he, Narcissa and Draco had been awaiting Lucius' return from when the man had gone to put his son to sleep.

**-Flash Back-**

_Narcissa looked at Tom appraisingly as they listened to Lucius' retreating footsteps. Tom returned the gaze, well aware of Draco's eyes on him as well. He knew both of them were curious about his thoughts about Orion, not that he could blame them, they were all very protective of the young teen._

_"So?" Draco asked in typical, blunt Draco fashion, his silver eyes staring intently at his Uncle. Tom resisted the urge to chuckle, knowing Draco would take that as a personal offense, but it was fairly funny how blunt Draco was, especially for a Slytherin and Lucius Malfoy's son._

_"Well" Tom began, taking a reassuring sip of his wine. "He's very different from the teenager he was as Harry Potter" He began, Tom had been expecting Harry, despite everything Lucius had said about Orion being a totally different person then Harry Potter, he still had expected the same teen he had dealt with in the Grave Yard. Instead he had seen a shy, anxious teen who was worried sick about meeting him. He had been floored that Orion had been willing to try and move past their rather tumulus history and he had instantly felt a surge of protectiveness that he had seen in all the Malfoys regarding their youngest._

_"He's..." He trailed off, wondering how to word this correctly and not upset anyone. "A very different boy then he was under the guise of Harry Potter" He said softly._

_"Not really" Narcissa spoke, her tone gently, "Everything he is now he's always been. However when he was living as Harry Potter with the entire burden of the light on his shoulders he had to force himself to seem indifferent and strong, he had to hide all his fears and insecurities or else the wizarding world and the light would have torn him apart" She explained. "Through everything that has happened to him at the hands of those despicable muggles and what he's learned in therapy have allowed him and in a sense forced him to drop the guise of Harry Potter and embrace his insecurities. Of course, by doing that the floodgate has been opened and he'll have to work on dealing with everything he's suppressed" She added, running her fingers through her blonde hair._

_Tom nodded in understanding, Narcissa was a bit better at explaining things such as emotions then the men in her family which helped Tom to better understand what Lucius was trying to get at._

_"I'm absolutely stunned that he's willing to try and put our past behind us. I knew Lucius said he would be willing to try, but to hear it from Orion is extremely reassuring" The dark haired man said with a small smile._

_"He's a very forgiving young man" Narcissa murmured with a soft smile, "And I believe he is the perfect addition, re-addition, to our family" She said lightly as she smiled at Draco, who nodded in agreement._

_"I didn't believe that Harry Potter would be able to fit in to a Slytherin family, a dark family, and with Orion's kind and forgiving nature seems like it should, once again clash with the Slytherin ideals our side holds but he seems to fit in perfectly" The Dark Lord mused._

_"He brings out a side in all of us that I believe we all repressed when he was initially kidnapped" Narcissa said as Draco reclined against her, letting his mother's fingers wander through his hair. He didn't really have anything to add to the conversation but he enjoyed listening to his Uncle's take on his little brother. Tom nodded in understanding, the loss of a child could lock away certain parts of a person's emotions or personality pretty effectively._

_"Well either way he's home now and I'm looking forward to get to know him as my godson and move away from the past" Tom said as he continued to sip his wine. Draco nodded in agreement, he loved getting to know Orion because there was something new about him each and everyday and it was sort of like having a baby in the house. Not that Orion was a baby, but there were similarities in the fact that when there was a newborn in the house everything they did or learned was new, shiny and exciting, it was the same with Orion, the family was still getting to know him but seeing each new personality aspects was always exciting for the family, or little habits they'd been unaware of. Tom grinned at Draco, he could practically see the young blond's train of thought and he agreed one hundred percent. It was an incredible feeling having Orion home again, as an honorary member of the Malfoy family, he, like the others, felt that the family was finally complete._

_"I'm extremely relieved to see that you and Orion are off to a good start" Narcissa suddenly spoke up again, breaking the silence almost reluctantly._

_"Me too" Draco agreed with a smile as he continued to rest against his mother. "Ori was really worried about meeting you at first but I'm glad you two finally met" He added._

_"Me too" Tom said with a grin, "I've been waiting to meet him since Lucius spoke to me after he discovered Orion in Mungos"_

_"Well he is your godson, no one can blame you for wanting to see him again" Narcissa murmured, "I think, deep down, he was probably excited at the prospect of meeting another member of his family. Of course due to your past with him he would be worried, but if he's willing to forgive Draco, myself and Lucius, I can't imagine him not at least trying to work though his problems with you" She said as she dropped a soft kiss on Draco's head, ignoring his whine of protest at the motherly action._

_"I hope so" Tom admitted with a wry smile._

**-End Flash Back-**

Shaking his head to clear away his memories, Tom's attention was drawn back down to the sleeping teen in his lap. Who knew Orion could be so kind and trusting? So willing to try and see the good in people? It really was a humbling experience and he would do anything to preserve his relationship with the young teen, with his godson. Yawning tiredly, Tom replaced the useless textbook on the pile and let his head roll back against the couch. Perhaps he could catch up on some sleep while Orion rested?

**-Blood-**

"Sirius! Calm down!" Remus roared as he stalked down the hallway of Grimmuald Place, a towel wrapped around his slim hips and his hair sopping wet. Hysterical laughter could be heard from further down the hallway as Sirius Black gamboled about playfully.

"But Remy" The dark haired man whined, "I'm so excited! We get to see our pup tonight!" He cheered.

"I understand that" Remus ground out, shampoo dripping down his shoulders, "But that does not mean you have to charm the shower to scream at me in french" He grumbled, leveling a glare at his best friend.

"I was just trying to get you to hurry up" Sirius grumbled petulantly, arms crossed in front of his chest. "I don't want to be late" The dark-haired man added, eyes dancing with excitement.

"Sirius" Remus said with a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "However we're not expected at the Malfoys until six and it is only four. Therefore we have two hours before we have to floo over" Remus said in what Sirius dubbed as his 'Professor' voice.

"So?" Sirius asked, looking at Remus with an uncomprehending expression.

"Well that means that I have plenty of time to shower before we have to leave. However, if you continue to distract me I will not have time to shower and I will personally hex you silent and lock you in a room with Severus without your wand or voice" Remus said in a deadly, yet calm voice. Sirius made a worried noise and rushed back down the hallway towards the washroom, Remus chuckled and followed after him at a leisurely pace before resuming his shower in a blessed silence.

Half an hour later when Remus emerged from his bedroom dressed nicely only to find an annoyed Sirius pacing in front of the fire.

"What?" The werewolf asked, amber eyes bright with confusion.

"Albus just flooed me, he got word, somehow, that we were going to the Malfoy resident for Christmas eve and morning and would like us to do some reconnaissance for him" Sirius growled, sounding very much like his animagus form in that moment.

"What did you say?" Remus asked in a concerned tone. Once everything had come out about Harry actually being the long lost Malfoy son, Sirius and Remus had discussed the light side, the Order and their take on everything. In the end the pair had decided to side with the young man they had once known as Harry Potter and would begin to distance themselves from Albus, the order and the light side.

"I told him to shove his reconnaissance where the sun don't shine and banned him and the order from the house. They can find their own damn head quarters now" The dog animagus said with a smirk. Remus sighed, well he was pleased he'd no longer have to deal with Albus and what not however Sirius was still a wanted man and he could see Albus being very vindictive about things.

"What about the fact that Albus knows were you are? He could tip of the aurors or Fudge" Remus asked, his tone worried.

"Well I'm hoping to speak to Lucius about that, everyone knows that Fudge is so far in Lucius' pockets that he's picking out lint. So, if Lucius were to press for a trial or were to back me as being innocent, then things will work out. I believe that Lucius will help me especially if it makes Orion happy and then I'll be free" Sirius said with a grin, "Free and out from under Albus' thumb. If he were to actually help me obtain freedom then he'd demand my allegiance and backing, like he does Snape" The Black Lord said, wrinkling his nose as he said Snape's name. Remus nodded in agreement, if Lucius did back Sirius then things would work out.

"Best be on your best behaviour then" Remus said as he flashed his friend a grin. "Can't afford to aggravate the man who could save your sorry ass" The werewolf said with a grin.

"Hopefully Orion's puppy dog eyes haven't diminished with living with the Malfoys. That kid has a powerful ability" Sirius said with a grin.

"I doubt they have, if anything he's probably more adorable then before" Remus said with a playful groan.

"Good, then Lucius can't deny him anything and I'll be a freeman before the Holiday is over" Sirius said with a happy smile, eyes glinting dangerously.

"Oh boy"

**-Blood-**

Albus Dumbledore frowned as he paced around his office a light scowl on his face as he reviewed the conversation he had just had with one Sirius Black. He was tempted to go straight to the aurors about the man, especially after he had just banned the Order from his house. The only problem was that even though he knew were Sirius was, he was no longer able to access the house nor was he able to discuss the name or location of the house due to Black protective enchantments. Also he knew that Sirius would be appealing to Lucius to help him and then he'd be free. If Sirius were to get free through Lucius' aid, then Albus would lose not only Sirius and his access to everything the Blacks owned, but he'd lose Remus and his access to the werewolves. So, perhaps he needed to do something else and approach Cornelius on behalf of Sirius. If he were the reason Sirius was cleared of all charges, Sirius would owe him big time. Grinning to himself, he settled down at his desk and grabbed his favorite quill and began to pen a letter to the Minister as well as a second letter to Amelia Bones. Hopefully he'd be able to start on all this before Lucius Malfoy got involved.

Perhaps this mess would work out in his favour after all. If he were responsible for freeing Sirius, Harry may just be so grateful he was also tempted back to the light side. That would be perfect. He just needed to make sure Cornelius and Amelia listened.

**-Blood-**

Lucius stepped through the floo and into the private family room of Malfoy manor. A bemused smile graced his face as he saw his son curled up in a mound of blankets, sleeping soundly on his godfather's lap. Tom, like Orion, was sleeping, though his hand resting lightly on Orion's blond head and his head lolled back against the high-backed couch. Lucius cursed softly and glanced around for one of Narcissa's ever present cameras. Spotting one, he carefully made his way across the room as silently as possible and scooped it up. Grinning evilly he snapped a few pictures of the pair, making sure to cover all angles before he woke the two for dinner. He knew Tom would want to clean up and Lucius would prefer if Orion wasn't in his sleep clothes for dinner. Putting the camera away lest the catch him and destroy the evidence, Lucius went about rousing the pair, pleased he'd succeeded in getting a few pictures for himself, his wife and his oldest son to add to the growing photo album which Narcissa had been working on since Orion had come home after his stay in Mungos.

Carefully nudging Tom, Lucius awoke the Dark Lord and carefully the two set about rousing Orion. Finally the silver-blue eyes flickered open and Orion looked around in a daze.

"Wassgoingon?" The young blond slurred, carefully pushing himself up. He was a bit startled to find he'd fallen asleep on his godfather's lap but he wasn't really upset or anything, just surprised.

"Dinner's going to be soon and Sirius, Severus and Remus will be arriving shortly" Lucius murmured softly to his son. "How are you feeling?" He added, his hand straying to rest on Orion's forehead to check his temperature.

"My throat hurts" Orion murmured with a shrug, "But I should be fine if I take a pepper-up" The young teen added.

"We'll see" Lucius murmured, the healers had recommended not using potions on Orion if it was avoidable, he still had so much residual things in his system from his time at Mungos that they didn't want something to interact badly.

Orion huffed slightly but nodded as he carefully rose of the couch with Tom's help, his blanket clutched tightly around him.

Orion shuffled out of the room intent on going to get somewhat ready to meet his godfather and Remus in somewhat of a decent fashion. Tom followed him closely to make sure the still sleepy teen made it to his room without falling over. Lucius was also heading towards his chambers in order to get ready for the evening and he hoped Narcissa and Draco arrived home soon in order for them to prepare for the guests.

**-Blood-**

Severus was the first to step through the main floo in the Malfoy Manor, a bottle of wine gripped elegantly in his hands as he looked around the family. Narcissa and Lucius were standing in front of the fire and slightly to the left, prepared to greet their gifts. Draco was standing near a large, comfortable chair which housed the still sick Orion and Tom was standing with the brothers.

"Severus" Lucius greeted warmly, extending his hand to the man. A quick, firm hand shake later and Severus was standing next to Tom, having greeted everyone else and fussing over Orion for a moment.

As the floo whooshed to life again, the occupants of the foyer stilled in apprehensive excitement. No one knew how Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were going to react but everyone was hoping for a positive reaction, especially for Orion's sake. Sirius Black stepped through the emerald green flames gracefully, a roughish grin adorning his still handsome features. He was wearing casual clothes, though he still looked good and his long hair was falling in soft waves around his face. It was hard to believe this man had spent twelve years in Azkaban, however one only needed to look in his grey eyes to see that despite his clean appearance and happy expression he was still haunted by his past.

Remus Lupin followed almost immediately after his friend. The werewolf still looked tired and slightly aged, but he was nicely dressed (as much as one in his situation could be) and had a warm smile on his face, amber eyes twinkling merrily.

"Lord Black, Professor Lupin" Lucius greeted, inclining his head in greeting. "Welcome to Malfoy Manor. This is my family, Narcissa Malfoy my wife, Draconis Malfoy my heir and Orion Malfoy my youngest son. Tom Riddle, my brother in all but blood and godfather to my youngest and you both know Severus Snape who is once again my brother in all but blood and godfather to my heir" Lucius said, his tone light yet formal.

Both Remus and Sirius quickly followed pureblood protocol and introduced themselves as well as greeted the family. Both looked startled at Tom's introduction and appearance and Remus immediately recognized the name though neither reacted much more then a slight twitch or tightening of the skin around their eyes.

"Thank you for having us Lord Malfoy" Sirius murmured respectfully as he handed Lucius a bottle of wine from the Black cellars and Remus produced a lovely bouquet for Narcissa.

"Please Lord Black call me Lucius, and we are very happy to have you and your friend in our home this evening and for our celebration tomorrow morning" Lucius responded, taking the bottle of wine with a grin.

"Alright Lucius, but it's Sirius" The dog animagus said with a smile.

"Shall we head to the dining room then?" Narcissa suggested, smiling pleasantly at the two men.

"Sounds lovely" Remus murmured, following the Malfoy family as they led the way down an opulent hallway towards a smaller, more personal dining room.

"Orion?" Sirius pipped up once they were all seated. The young blond's eyes shot up from his plate and he looked worriedly at his godfather (which was what he still considered the man. He had three in his eyes, Tom, Sirius and Remus).

"Y-yes?" He stammered softly, heart beating painfully in his chest.

"Remus and I support you" Sirius murmured softly, "Whatever side you choose, whatever choices you make, we are on your side" The man said, his tone unnaturally serious.

"Really?" The young teen pipped up, eyes glittering hopefully.

"Really" Sirius responded, "You're still our pup after all, even if you look a bit different and have a different name" He added, causing the entire family, Tom included, to relax.

"Thanks Siri" Orion murmured, struggling to keep his eyes dry. "I love you guys"

"We love you too" Remus murmured, his amber eyes sparkling softly and warmly at the emotional young teen.

Lucius beamed, he was so relieved this had gone well and that Orion had the support of two men who meant a lot to him.

"Thank you" He murmured softly to Sirius, knowing Remus' werewolf senses would pick up the soft whispers.

"He's family Lucius, regardless of the past and all those circumstances, we still love him and consider him to be part of our little pack" Remus responded lowly as Draco entertained his brother and Severus, Narcissa and Tom discussed potions. It really was a wonderful evening.

* * *

**A/N: If you guys are interested in seeing what's going on, feel free to follow me on twitter BloodyRed_Queen**

**Also, I am looking for someone serious who is interested in betaing my stories. If you are, feel free to send me a PM and we'll talk.  
Thank You!**


	10. A Malfoy Family Christmas

**Disclaimer: HP and Co, belong to J.K. Rowling, not myself. **

**A/N: Special thanks to my brand new beta cocobyrd87.**

**A/N2: Just a minature rant. If you don't like my story, how I'm writing or how I work my characters, please don't read. Its far easier and kinder to hit the 'back' button, then to send rude messages or reviews. Writing is hard work, regardless of what you think, and just because you, the reader, dislike something that I, the author, have done, doesn't mean you have to tell me. If you feel the need to criticize, try for some constructive criticism, before belitting me or being disrespectful. For everyone else who reads/reviews/follows and favourites this story. .AWESOME!**

**R/R!**

Chapter Ten: A Malfoy Family Christmas

Remus let out a startled yelp as a heavy weight fell onto his stomach and began to slobber all over him. Popping open his eyes, he groaned as the black, wiggling mass known as Padfoot continued to bath him in slobber.

"Sirius," he groaned, snatching up his wand and casting a Tempus charm, "it's five-thirty in the morning!" He said, growling at the dog. With one last slobber filled lick, Sirius shifted back to his human form, still sitting on Remus' stomach.

"It's Christmas Mooney! Christmas!" The dog animagus shouted, "C'mon!" He jumped off Remus and began tugging on his arms.

"C'mon? C'mon where?" Remus asked, wincing as Sirius continued to try and dislocate his shoulder. Sirius just gaped at Remus as if he were a moron and huffed, flopping on the bed next to Remus.

"It's Christmas and we need to wake everyone up," Sirius said with a maniacal grin. Remus groaned and buried his head under his pillow. He suddenly was taken back to Christmas at Hogwarts and Sirius' exuberance over the holiday. Hearing his best friend huff and stomp away, he let out a relieved sigh. He just felt bad for the rest of the house that now had to put up with the insane dog animagus. A startled yelp from the bedroom across the hallway alerted Remus to the fact that Sirius had already begun rousing the other occupants of the Manor. Groaning in annoyance, the werewolf hauled himself out of bed and wrapped a warm dressing gown around himself before casting a freshening charm on himself and heading down the hallway towards the small dining room where he assumed the family would be meeting for breakfast.

**-Blood-**

Draco settled himself down at the breakfast table with a disgruntled sigh. He, like the rest of the Manor's occupants, baring Uncle Tom of course, had been rudely awakened to loud barking and slobbery tongues. The entire family was seated around the table, all wearing sleep clothes and valiantly trying to stay awake while Sirius prattled on and on about Christmas and opening presents.

"Hurry up!" The dog animagus whined at the assembled group. His plate was bare and his third cup of coffee drained as he anxiously bounced around in his seat next to Orion. No one bothered to give the man a response, since everyone was methodically eating or in his father's case guzzling down as many cups of coffee as humanely possible.

Finally, the family was done enjoying their rushed Christmas breakfast and Sirius was busy escorting them all to the small sitting room in the family quarters of the house. The tree was set up there, along with the multitude of presents which was why Sirius was so bloody hyper.

Opening the door, the entire group turned to observe Orion. From what Lucius and Narcissa understood, this was Orion's first Christmas with a family, except for perhaps the first Christmas he ever had with Lily and James, but he had been far to little to remember that, and the Malfoy parents refused to count that as Orion's first Christmas.

The young teen was gaping, staring at the lavishly decorated room in shock and awe.

"This is amazing," he breathed, walking unconsciously deeper into the room as he stared up at the big tree the elves had set up and decorated the night before. Draco walked after his little brother, slinging an arm over his shoulder and guiding him over to one of the couches.

"Shall we start then?" Lucius asked as he settled down in his usual seat, summoning an elf to bring them all tea and coffee as well as to bring some muggle cough drops for Orion. Those seemed to work well for the young teen's sore throat and subsequent cough, and none of the ingredients interacted badly with any of his current potions.

"Yes!" Sirius cheered as he wiggled about on the floor in front of Orion and Draco. Remus was seated on the single chair, leaving the love seat for Narcissa and Lucius, Severus and Tom were standing behind the couch that housed the boys, speaking softly to one another, though Severus continued to shoot nasty glances at Sirius.

Once the elf had returned with tea, coffee and some small snacks, the present opening began. Sirius set things in motion by crawling around the tree like a child and fishing out a present for each person. Handing out the first wave of presents, Sirius waited until everyone had something and then directed them to open them. Soon sounds of ripping paper filled the air and soft exclamations and thank you's were heard. Present opening continued in this manner until finally only one present was left; a special one for Orion.

Waving off Sirius, who tried to grab the final gift, Lucius picked up the present and handed it to his ailing son. Orion regarded his Father curiously before glancing down at the elegant tag which adorned the silver and blue wrapping paper.

'To Orion, Love Dray, Mum and Dad.'

Beaming, the young teen carefully opened the package, treating it much more reverently then he had any of the others, and once the paper was carefully pulled away and discarded, Orion was left with a small, nondescript box. Confused, he opened the gift, eyes going wide as he saw the small pendant sitting inside. Pulling the necklace out, he admired the thin, silver chain before looking over the pendant; the design was the Malfoy Crest, and the small piece practically vibrated with magic.

"We had that made for you a few days before you were born. All Malfoys have one, we usually present it at the first Christmas or Birthday," Lucius explained, moving to help Orion clasp the pendant around his neck.

"Thank you," Orion said, reverently caressing the necklace. It felt warm on his neck and reassuring and he already loved it.

"There are protection spells weaved specially into the metal, it is also an emergency portkey that will bring you back to the Manor when you grip it in your hand and say the words 'home'; of course, it is for emergency use only," Lucius said, though he shot a stern look at his oldest son, who flushed.

"It was an emergency, Pansy was all over me!" Draco whined, hiding his face against Orion's shoulder and causing the younger teen to giggle.

"Well let's hope your brother uses a bit more common sense when it comes to having his portkey," Lucius said, though he was chuckling softly.

"Thank you," Orion said softly, having recovered from his laughing fit. Lucius, Narcissa and Draco smiled at him, Draco cuddling him closer while everyone went about admiring their presents, the family moment having passed.

"Can I borrow that book you got from Uncle Sev?" Draco asked curiously, tugging the potions manual from the pile of things Orion had received.

"Of course," Orion grinned, cuddling the black dog plushy that Siri had gotten him. He was a bit old for plushed toys, however this one was apparently exactly like the one Sirius had given him as a baby, or given baby Harry, either way it was cute and had sentimental value.

"Thank you! I've wanted to get my hands on this book for awhile," Draco said, immediately opening the large tomb and flipping through the pages. Orion laughed and leaned back against his brother, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere in the family room. Sirius and Remus were outside romping about in the snow (well Padfoot was and Remus was keeping an eye on him). Narcissa was reading a book that Tom had gotten for her, while Lucius worked absentmindedly on some paperwork for the Ministry. Tom and Severus were having a lively, yet quiet debate over a game of Wizarding chess. Orion sighed contently, letting Draco's quiet breathing lull him into an even more relaxed state, this truly was the perfect way to spend a Christmas afternoon.

**-Blood-**

"Did you have a good Christmas Pup?" Sirius asked Orion curiously. He and Remus were heading back to their home for Christmas dinner. Shockingly they'd been invited to the Weasleys for dinner and despite the pair's current feelings about the family, they were still trying to keep appearances, at least until after Molly's amazing cooking.

"It was amazing," Orion said, letting Sirius draw him into a tight hug, "Thanks for coming."

"Anytime Pup," Remus said, rubbing Orion's back before pulling the boy from his over-exuberant godfather to hug him himself. "We'll see you in a few days; we'll be joining you for the New Years party," He added. Orion nodded, hugging Remus tightly before finally releasing the tall man.

"Bye!" The blond teen called as he watched the two men floo back to Grimmauld place.

Lucius wrapped his arm around Orion's shoulders, rubbing his son's shoulder before leading him back towards the family room.

"Are we going anywhere for dinner tonight?" Orion asked curiously as he and Lucius walked.

"Not tonight, we'll go out for a few parties after this evening," Lucius responded with a soft smile. "We have a big gala to go to on New Years Eve, depending on how you feel of course," He added softly.

"Sirius and Remus will be joining us as well," He said with a grin, ruffling Orion's hair.

"Is Uncle Sev staying for dinner? And Uncle Tom?" Orion asked with childish curiosity.

"Of course, both Severus and Tom stay with us for any and all major holidays and birthdays. Tom practically lives here anyway, we've invited him to move in numerous times but he enjoys keeping Riddle Manor for, ahh, certain events," Lucius explained.

"Oh, cool!" Orion said with a grin as he and Lucius walked back into the family room.

"Did you see Sirius and Remus off?" Narcissa asked, glancing up from her book.

"Yes, they'll return in a few days for New Years," Lucius said as Orion went to snuggle with Draco and he joined his wife on the couch.

"Are they still at it?" The Malfoy Lord asked, nodding at Severus and Tom.

"Of course," Narcissa said with a chuckle, "It is a tradition for them to play every Christmas and argue all the while," She said with a cheeky smile. Lucius chuckled, nodding in agreement. Severus and Tom tended to spend much of their time together playing chess or arguing, or doing both at once.

**-Blood-**

For once, Christmas dinner in the Malfoy Manor was a quiet affair. Normally the family had a lavish party or at least a few guests (beyond Severus and Tom) over to the Manor. However, this was Orion's first Christmas with the family and he had a bit of a cold and they didn't want to overwhelm him. Despite the dinner being low-key, the house elves still had outdone themselves and everyone was dressed in formal clothing.

Sitting down, the family talked quietly while enjoying an absolute feast.

"Did you have a good day Orion?" Tom asked from where he was seated next to his godson.

"It was amazing" Orion murmured, sipping his juice. "When I was little, I always dreamed of a Christmas with my family like this. I used to imagine my family being the Potters, but today was everything I dreamed about and more" The young teen confined, keeping his voice low so that no one else overheard. Tom smiled, extremely happy to hear that Orion had had such a wonderful day but also happy that his young godson was willing to share something so special with him.

"Thank you for the defense book" Orion added, "It's a lot better then the one Umbridge assigned us"

"I know, I read the one she assigned you, after reading that rubbish I decided to give you a gift from my rather extensive collection. Nothing dark of course, but it should give you a hand with defense this year and in the years to follow" Tom said with a soft grin. Orion beamed and busied himself with eating when Draco nudged him and looked pointedly at his plate, his brother really did fuss over his eating habits.

Turning to Lucius, who was seated on Tom's other side, the Dark Lord struck up a conversation, though he kept it light and related only to politics.

**-Blood-**

Orion lay on Draco's bed later that evening. Both boys were sprawled out working on little bits of homework while the adults sat by the fire in the sitting room sipping Brandy and talking politics, again.

"Night!" Orion said joyfully as the small kitten, well cat, jumped onto Draco's bed and butted his chin gently. He'd been so busy lately he had forgotten his kitten occasionally in the rush and he was pleased to see him. He grinned as he saw the new collar around the kitten's neck, the collar was emerald green, his old eye colour, but it looked good against his black fur.

"Did you get that for Christmas?" He said softly, rubbing the kitten's ears as he lifted the little cat onto his chest.

"Mother and Father got it for him, they normally get little things for all the pets," Draco murmured, his own owl Archimedes had been given tons of little treats and a brand new carrying cage for traveling.

"Really?" Orion asked, still cuddling Night. He felt a bit bad for having forgotten his pet, though he was pleased he'd been spoiled and he resolved to get his pet something next time he was in Hogsmead.

"Yupp, they started the tradition when I was about five and didn't understand why my pony didn't get a Christmas present," Draco said, blushing lightly.

"So after that the pets started getting little things?" Orion mused with a small grin.

"Of course, I was very upset that Ebony didn't get something" Draco chuckled softly, "we went out that very afternoon and got him a brand new saddle. Dad had to harass store owners into even opening to sell us something, but the Malfoy name and money talks," Draco said with a grin. Orion just laughed, he could see his brother throwing a fit about his pony not getting a present.

"Shut up," Draco moaned, "I was five!" He said defensively. Orion just continued to giggle, ignoring his brother's scowl which proved to be dangerous when Draco lunged forward and began to tickle him mercilessly. Night yowled loudly and bolted away from the brothers, going over to Draco's couch and curling up primly.

"No!" Orion whined, "Dray no!" He was writhing and laughing which soon resulted in a coughing fit which had his brother stopping.

"Oh damn, you're still sick," Draco said, mentally kicking himself as he summoned a house elf to bring him some of Orion's cough thingies.

"I'm fine Dray," Orion said breathlessly as his brother fussed over him, making sure he hadn't gotten worse. "Really Draco, it's a bit of a cough, I'll be alright," Orion reassured. Yes he was sick, but he'd been way worse off before. He'd be fine, but he knew his family was going to worry about him regardless of all that; they had only just gotten him back after all.

"Just take the cough things and relax," Draco ordered with a small grin as he watched Orion sip some water before popping the cough drop in his mouth.

"What should we do now?" Orion asked, snuggling into Draco's blankets. Draco chuckled, though pursed his lips thoughtfully, he really had no idea what to do.

"We could play chess?" The blond finally suggested, chuckling as his brother wrinkled his brow and let out a sigh. "Or not," He had forgotten how bad Orion was at chess. "Exploding Snap? Gobstones?" Orion sighed, shaking his head. Classic Wizarding games were boring, and to be honest he really wanted to curl up and watch a movie or something. He knew that wasn't possible though since he was in a Wizarding house with no muggle amenities. Sometimes he missed the muggle world, but even when he had lived there he hadn't been able to enjoy anything that the Dursleys had had. He knew that the movie nights were a typical muggle family activity, and he sort of wished he'd been able to partake in it. Draco sighed sadly, he really had no idea how to entertain his little brother and he felt sort of bad that he was unable to.

"Do you wanna go join Mother and Father? They're just talking to Uncle Sev and Uncle Tom, but maybe they'll be able to think of something," he offered with a soft smile.

"Okay," Orion said, sliding off the bed and scooping up Night. Draco chuckled and led his brother out of the room and towards the family room.

As they entered the sitting room, the adults glanced up, smiling welcomingly at the pair.

"What are you two up to?" Narcissa asked as the boys settled on the sofa, Orion still cuddling Night.

"We're trying to think up ways to entertain ourselves," Draco murmured, "with Ori being sick, we can't do any normal activities, like go riding or flying."

"Riding?" Orion pipped up curiously.

"Of course, the Malfoy family has an extensive stables, when you're feeling better we'll go and you can look through and pick out your own horse," Lucius said with a smile, "and Draco and Severus would be willing to teach you how to ride."

"Awesome!" Orion said with a happy smile, he couldn't wait to learn to ride. After Care of Magical Creatures in his third year and Buckbeak, he was enamoured with the sport, though he might prefer to try a regular horse over a Hippogriff. Draco grinned, he loved riding and so did Severus, shockingly, the two of them would train his little brother to be an expert on horseback and then he could properly show Orion the property.

Slowly the family dissolved into conversation, bantering playfully back and forth, talking about schooling or sports and sometimes even Politics, though they kept things light and happy. Eventually, Orion's boredom was alleviated since the young teen curled up with his kitten and fell asleep on the couch. A blanket was draped over him and conversation continued around him, though much quieter then before. Despite sickness and some minor drama involving a psycho dog animagus and an angry Potions Professor, the day had been lovely and everyone felt that they had succeeded in making Orion's first family Christmas memorable and happy.

* * *

**A/N: So this is a bit of a fluffy chapter. Next chapter will contain at least one scene of Sirius, Remus and the Weasleys and perhaps New Years, if I can fit it all in. For avid readers, just a heads up that I'm going on a mini vacation before University starts on the 5th for me. So, I may be sort of MIA for a bit. No worries, I shall return and with new chapters! Hope you all enjoy**


	11. New Years Disasters

**Discaimer: HP and Co. belong to J.K. Rowling not myself.  
Beta: ****cocobyrd87**

**A/N: I just want to say thanks to everyone for all the support you guys have given this story. We've officially passed 200 reviews! Which is awesome! I hope you all enjoy the chapter! Sorry for being away so long, school really caught up with me. Hopefully I can get a bit of a break here and get caught up with everything!**

**R/R!**

Chapter Eleven: New Years Disasters

Draco settled at the breakfast table with a tired yawn before he tugged a plate of toast towards himself and helped himself to a few pieces, smiling as he noticed his favourite raspberry jam was already sitting by his elbow. His parents were both seated at the table, but neither spoke to him, experience had taught the Malfoy parents that their oldest son was completely ridiculous in the morning, at least until he had drank his first cup of coffee; then he became a normal person again (well at least as normal as a Malfoy could be).

Orion had yet to make an appearance, but it seemed sleeping in was a luxury the younger teen adored; it was very apparent that sleeping in was something new for him, and no one in the family -close or extended- felt the need to rouse the young teen before he woke on his own.

"Are we going to Parkinsons tonight?" Draco asked, setting down his empty coffee cup.

"I believe so," Narcissa responded, smiling lightly at her oldest son. "Lucius?" She asked her husband.

"We're going. We will have to prepare Orion a bit however, since our family is not having our annual party this year," Lucius murmured. "This party at the Parkinson's will double as the usual Death Eater affair, so certain people will be there and despite our desires to shield Orion, he will be exposed to certain people," he said, lifting an eyebrow at the two other Malfoys. Both nodded in understanding, Draco already mentally vowing to keep an eye on his brother for the duration of the evening.

"Is Orion well enough to go to this event?" Narcissa asked, furrowing her brow delicately.

"He's been over his cold for a few days 'Cissa. I'm sure that as long as he takes it easy, as he has been doing, he'll be fine," Lucius reassured his wife. "Besides, he needs to learn how to handle going to social functions like this," he added.

Narcissa nodded, though she still looked mildly worried; Orion very much brought out her mothering instincts.

"I'll keep an eye on him Mum," Draco piped up, flashing his mother a reassuring smile as the door to the small, personal dining room pushed open and Orion stumbled inside sleepily.

Narcissa flashed Draco a smile and set about loading Orion's plate with food and pouring him a glass of orange juice. Orion flashed his Mother a thankful smile and set about digging into his food. He'd gotten more used to be treated this way by his family, and he had begun to really appreciate and enjoy all the little things that they did for him on a daily basis.

He was really going to miss everyone when he and Draco returned to Hogwarts in a few days time. He very nearly giggled at the thought; if anyone had told him a year ago that he would miss Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy he would have thought they were nuts. If anyone had told him he would miss Tom Riddle, he would have had them bloody committed. He flushed and bent his head, busying himself with his food while his family all regarded him curiously though no one chose to comment.

**-Blood-**

Tom sighed as he watched Bellatrix dance about the room; the entire inner circle was meeting with him at Riddle Manor (well the entire inner circle barring Lucius and Severus, they already knew what was going on). He wondered how he was going to spring this news on his most loyal followers. Obviously they needed to be made aware of the situation, of how important Orion was to him. He'd hate for the young teen to be hurt due to some overzealous follower.

Moving subtly in his chair, he felt the eyes of his followers immediately fall on him and he smirked; that was something he did enjoy immensely about being a Dark Lord. Everyone was so in-tune with his behavior or emotions, always keeping an eye on him and moderating their own behavior to keep him pleased. It was a rather invigorating notion and feeling.

"I take it you all have been made somewhat aware of the situation concerning the Malfoy family?" He drawled after he took a sip from his wine glass. There was a general murmur of agreement and nodding from the assembled group.

"Is it true then?" Nott asked curiously. Tom kept the atmosphere more lax with his inner circle then at meetings that also included his outer circle members.

"Yes," Tom responded, ignoring the shocked gasps that sounded from a few people.

"Lucius and Narcissa's youngest son, Orion, was kidnapped at a few days old from St. Mungo's hospital by Lily and James Potter. We also believe Albus Dumbledore to be involved," Tom began, giving the shortened version of the story.

"This past summer, Harry Potter was seized from his muggle home and placed in St. Mungo's to recover from physical abuse. While in treatment, the Healer discovered extensive glamour charms on young Mr. Potter. Removing them, she discovered that the young teen, that we and the world thought to be Harry James Potter, was, in fact, Orion Pollux Malfoy, the lost son of Narcissa and Lucius." He sipped his wine again, allowing everyone to absorb what he had just said.

"So Harry Potter is really Orion?" Fenrir Greyback asked a frown forming as he thought over the implications of that news.

"So what happened to the real Harry Potter?" Rabastan Lestrange asked.

"It is believed that he died shortly before Orion was kidnapped from the hospital. Lucius is trying to track down the Potter's personal Healer to figure out everything."

"What of the prophecy? Is it still active?" Avery asked. This news had the potential to change everything.

"As far as I can understand, the prophecy is null at this point. Harry Potter is dead. Yes, when I went to the Potter's house on Halloween I marked who I thought to be Harry Potter, but that is the only part of the prophecy that applies to Orion. So, as far as I'm concerned the prophecy is no longer a part of this war. Orion has chosen to remain neutral for the foreseeable future and his entire family is, as we all know, of a darker inclination," he added with a slight twist of his lips.

"Why are you telling us this My Lord?" Avery asked curiously. He and the others were curious as to why the man was telling them all this. Obviously this news did impact the dark cause as well as the Malfoy family, whom everyone knew was close to the Dark Lord, but Avery wanted to know why they were discussing it currently.

"Because Orion will be accompanying his family to the Parkinson Ball tonight and I felt the need to warn you all that any slight against my _godson_ is something I will not tolerate," The Dark Lord drawled dangerously.

"G-godson?" Avery squeaked. It made sense in a way; the Malfoy family had always been close to their Lord, but to name him godson to their youngest child? Well, that was surprising.

"Yes Avery, Godson. Narcissa and Lucius named me godfather to their youngest child when they found out they were pregnant once again," Tom explained.

"Therefore you all understand why I would take it very personally and be very upset if something or someone were to upset or hurt him," he said, narrowing his red eyes as he regarded the gathered group. He doubted any of his followers would do something to Orion, but he also wouldn't be surprised of Bella or someone were to try and win his favour by acting out. It wouldn't be the first time, after all.

"We will make sure the young Malfoy has an enjoyable time and endeavor to make sure nothing bothers or upsets him, my Lord," Parkinson said while the others nodded in agreement.

"Good," Tom said, finishing off his wine and rising. "Now, I suppose I shall see you all tonight." He finished with a wave of dismissal. Soon the house was empty and Tom flooed back to Malfoy Manor to get ready for the evening. He knew better then to attempt to run away or avoid Narcissa's ministrations. Stepping out of the fire and into the family sitting room, he wasn't at all surprised to see Severus and Lucius sitting, playing a game of chess and clearly waiting for him.

"How did it go?" Lucius asked as soon as Tom was clear of the fire. His eyes remained on the game, however his tone was serious.

"It was at as well as could be expected. We'll have to keep an eye on the ones we were already worried about," Tom said with a shrug, "but they've all been made aware of the situation and know the consequences for any negative behavior," he added. Lucius nodded and stood, moving away from the game, Severus following after him.

"Well we already suspected we'd have to watch certain individuals," Severus said silkily. "Orion will be with Draco and all his classmates; they'll make sure to keep him happy and safe."

"Draco is very protective over his little brother," Tom mused, ignoring Lucius' groan.

"He's more then just protective," The blond grumbled as the men walked towards their respective rooms to get ready for the evening. "He takes protectiveness to a whole different level. I'll be surprised if he allows Orion out of his sight at all this evening. He barely lets him out of his sight in the house and from what I hear he's not much better at school. He's lucky that Orion is so tolerant and willing to let Draco be so overprotective." Lucius said as he slipped into his own rooms only to be accosted by his wife.

"I expect to see all three of you ready to go in half an hour," Narcissa said, glowering at Lucius and Tom. "We are not going to be late for the Parkinson's ball," She added, her tone turning menacing, ignoring her husband's yelp as she dragged him into the bedroom after basically chasing Severus and Tom away.

**-Blood-**

Orion was sprawled on Draco's bed as he watched his brother fuss over his appearance in the full length mirror in his room.

"Mum said half-an-hour Dray," Orion reminded his brother for what had to be the tenth time.

"My hair," Draco whined at his little brother, not really making any sense to Orion as he applied more product to it. Apparently Draco was going for something called the casual look. Orion just couldn't understand why; if it was supposed to be the 'casual look', Draco needed to apply seemingly endless amounts of gel to his already tousled locks.

"Your hair looks fine," Orion grumbled, sitting up carefully on the bed, lest he rumple his nice clothes and have to change.

"Just fine?" Draco pouted, looking at his reflection in the mirror once again.

"Sorry, I meant perfect, stunning, gorgeous, amazing," Orion drawled sarcastically.

"One day you will care about these things little brother," Draco grumbled, shooting the younger teen a mock disappointed look.

"I highly doubt it," Orion said cheekily. Draco shot his brother another look before checking

himself in the mirror one last time.

"Fine, this is as good as its going to get," Draco huffed. "Lets go meet Mother, Father and the others," he said, tugging Orion off the bed and straightening his clothing.

The youngest Malfoy was wearing a pair of black dress trousers, black dress shoes and a baby-blue dress shirt. Over this outfit he was wearing an open black robe which had a silver design on the hem. Draco was dressed similarly to Orion, though his dress shirt was a deep emerald green.

"Dray!" Orion whined as his brother began to finger comb his hair. "We're going to be late," he admonished as his brother looked at him curiously. Draco huffed again and led the way down to the receiving room, which was where the family would be flooing from.

Entering the room, Orion wasn't surprised to find everyone waiting for them. Narcissa was dressed in a gorgeous, floor length gown that was a silvery-blue colour that accented her eyes. Lucius was dressed similar to the boys, but his shirt matched Narcissa's dress. Severus was in black, as always, though his robe did have an emerald green hem. Tom was also wearing black, though his shirt was blood red, like his eyes. All in all, they were a well-dressed, fancy group.

"Shall we go then?" Lucius asked, eyeing Draco teasingly. Draco huffed but nodded and followed his parents through the floo, with Orion following behind him and Severus and Tom bringing up the rear.

Stepping out of the green flames, Draco smiled as he was cordially greeted by the Parkinson family, which consisted of Pansy and her parents. As the greetings ended, Orion and Draco headed into the main ball room to find some food while Narcissa went to chat with her lady friends and Lucius, Severus and Tom went to speak to the other men at this event.

Orion glanced around curiously, staying close to Draco as soon as he had finished with his greeting and subsequent introduction to Pansy's parents.

"Nice decorations," the young blond murmured as he paused to look at an ice sculpture. Draco nodded in agreement, looking around the slowly filling ballroom for his usual group of friends.

"Come on, I see Blaise and Theo," Draco murmured, carefully leading Orion across the dance floor and to a corner of the room with some comfortable chairs. As soon as they were seated amongst their peers, a house elf popped into existence asking if they wanted anything to eat and drink.

"Wine and a selection of Hors d'oeuvre," Draco said with a smirk.

"Can I just have a butter beer?" Orion asked; he knew Draco would share his food with him.

Their parents allowed Draco to drink the occasional glass of wine, and seeing Blaise and Theo having a drink made it alright for Draco as well. Orion was a different matter, not that the young teen was much of a drinker in the first place. Even during Quidditch parties in the Gryffindor Common Room he had never really indulged in the drinks that the twins or Seamus had managed to smuggle in.

"Yes sir, Tipsy be getting that for yous right away," The elf squeaked before disappearing.

"Have a good Christmas then?" Blaise asked the blond pair, grinning at Orion.

"It was really nice," Orion said shyly, returning Blaise's smile. He rather liked the tall, Italian teen.

"Yea? Getting anything good?" Blais asked, waggling his eyebrows teasingly. Draco groaned, chuckling at his best friend's antics.

"I-I guess so," Orion look bemused at the question; he wasn't sure what constituted a 'good' Christmas present in the terms Blaise was using. He loved every single item he had gotten and he was still floored at the generosity his family had shown him, even though they constantly reassured him that it was normal. Draco wrapped his arm around Orion, giving his brother a quick hug as the house elf appeared with food and requested drinks.

"Thank you," Orion said shyly as he accepted his butter beer, ignoring the elf's 'eep' of surprise as he looked over the plate of food.

"Here, you'll like these," Draco murmured, pointing out a few different items on the plate. Orion was still adjusting to the different class of food that the Malfoy's ate. He still was adjusting, especially since the majority of food he had eaten since leaving St. Mungos had been at Hogwarts. His few months at home before school he had been on a special diet to try and counteract some of the effects of his malnutrition. Orion was still on nutrients potions and on what the Healers called a 'see-food diet', but at least he wasn't on the special diet he was on before school started.

"Thanks Dray," Orion said sheepishly. Eventually he hoped to figure this stuff out, learn all the in's and out of elitist pureblood society, but for now he was happy that he had a big brother who was patient enough and willing to help him. He nibbled at one of the suggested tidbits, smiling in pleasant surprised as he realized it did, indeed, taste good. Draco chuckled at his brother's expression before turning to engage Theo in a conversation about their potions' assignment.

"So Orion, you ready to go back to school? Or are you sort of dreading it?" Blaise asked, sipping his wine casually.

"I honestly don't know," Orion murmured. "For a long time Hogwarts was home, it was the only place I wanted to be really, but now..." He shrugged and smiled. "I guess I have mixed feelings. I want to go back and see everyone and stuff, but I also just want to stay home." He grinned again at the notion of some place other then Hogwarts being home.

Blaise nodded in understanding; he couldn't fully understand everything Orion had gone through, especially as Harry Potter, but he could sympathize with the younger man, or at least he could try to sympathize.

"Did you have a good Holiday Blaise?" Orion piped up suddenly, changing the subject away from uncertain waters.

"Yea, we were in Italy with my family mainly, but it was really nice and warm," The Italian teen said with a smirk and an exaggerated shudder.

"S'not that cold," Orion said, ignoring Draco's chuckling and mumbling about Orion always being cold. "Shush you!" Orion said, nudging his brother in the ribs with his elbow.

"You're not exactly the best candidate to lecture someone about whether or not it's cold. You're always cold," Draco said with a chuckle.

"Shush!" Orion said again with a stubborn smile, he wasn't always cold. He just liked wearing layers, which was it. Blaise chuckled at the easy teasing that went on between the two brothers. It was nice to see, especially since Orion had been so hesitant and timid to begin with. The young teen was still fairly timid around everyone but he seemed to be much more relaxed then he had been at the beginning of the year.

Theo chuckled and tapped Draco's shoulder, drawing him back into conversation about classes as Blaise and Orion began playfully discussing the weather.

"So, this is where you've all hid," Pansy drawled as she, Daphne and Millicent all sauntered over to the relatively secluded corner their male counterparts had cloistered themselves in.

"Seems like it," Draco said, glancing around as he realized that the ballroom had completely filled up and it seemed like everyone had arrived.

"Come on," Pansy said, tugging on Draco's arm. "You need to mingle, we all do."

Orion sighed, biting his lip nervously; he had felt fine in the secluded corner, but the prospect of walking around the ballroom and mingling with adults and other teens just didn't exactly seem like fun to him. It actually made him sort of anxious. Draco frowned at his brother's anxious behaviour but nodded his agreement to Pansy, these events were primarily social events after all and social meant mingling.

"You'll be fine, just stick with me," Draco said, wrapping a reassuring arm around his brother.

"That's why we come to these events, to socialize. Traditionally this is where pureblood families scope one another out and make business alliances or marriage alliances. Not too many families indulge in that anymore, but the tradition of getting together is still important," he explained as the group of teens began to wander the crowded room.

Occasionally adults or other teens would call out to them, but nothing to extreme happened, at least not until a slightly intoxicated Bellatrix Lestrange sprang out of the crowd and grabbed Orion and Draco, dragging the pair of shocked boys into the cloakroom, much to the shock of the little elf manning the area.

"So this is the newest little Malfoy!" The insane witch purred, dragging her nails down Orion's face, both boys far to shocked to really comprehend what was going on.

"Aunt Bella?" Draco hissed pulling his brother against his side protectively. No one ever knew how the insane Death Eater was going to react, sometimes she could be unfailingly kind and sweet and other times she'd crucio you without a second thought.

"Yes Dragon?" She asked brightly, using his mother's childhood nickname for the tall blond. "I just wanted to meet my new nephew, especially since he's the reason our Lord's gone through so much. First the pain of losing his godson and then the pain caused by Harry Potter, all the duels, all the ruined plans, and then the pain of finding out the person you want to kill is the one you lost!" Bella cackled.

"None of that was Orion's fault, he and Uncle Tom talked and worked things out," Draco hissed, carefully maneuvering the now shaking Orion behind him.

"He deserves to be punished Dragon!" Bella hissed. "Even if our Lord doesn't want him punished, he deserves it. If he were a man he'd step forward and accept his punishment. Instead he's a little puppy, hiding behind his big brother. Some Malfoy; he brings nothing but shame to your family's name." She hissed, hands clenching around her wand. Draco wondered vaguely how she had even gotten a wand, being an Azkaban escapee and all.

"Go away Aunt Bella, before Uncle Tom or Father catch you here!" Draco hissed, though he was nervous, there wasn't much he could do if the insane woman decided to attack the pair of them.

"Do not presume to tell me what to do Draco," Bella hissed, her face turning ugly with the use of his given name. Quicker then either Orion or Draco could fathom, her wand was trained on Draco.

"_Crucio_!" She hissed, the beam of light hitting her oldest nephew as he let out a tortured scream as the curse hit him, knocking him backwards into his brother and fell, convulsing onto the ground.

Orion panicked, he could feel Draco writhing and twitching on top of him, his voice hoarse with the intensity of his screams. Scrambling free, the Gryffindor part of his mind took over and he charged forward, plowing into Bella and knocking the pair of them to the ground.

As her concentration broke and her wand went flying, the curse was lifted from Draco, leaving the older teen lying, panting on the ground as Orion and Bellatrix tussled. Orion had the advantage of speed and surprise, however after a few short seconds, Bellatrix's size and weight were the advantage and she easily grabbed the young teen and dragged him to his feet. Slamming him against the wall, she wandlessly summoned her wand to her.

"Attack me," She hissed, training the wand at Orion's throat. "How I'd love to gut you, watch your blood spill all over the pretty, polished floor," She teased, the tip of her wand digging into Orion's neck, blood welling from the spot.

"But, alas I can't kill you. I can punish you though!" She teased, dragging her wand over his neck. Orion made an eeping noise as the wand connected with his flesh, dragging over and over his sensitive skin as Bella whispered something in latin.

He couldn't understand what she was saying, couldn't hear her due to the blood pounding in his ears. It hurt though, it hurt so bad. Tears ran freely down his cheeks as he sluggishly struggled before he was finally dropped. As he hit the ground, he was made aware of shouting and spells flying about, a hand falling onto his shoulder and someone pulled him into their lap.

He still couldn't hear what was going on, but he could see flashes of light from spells and he was sure something was happening. Finally, his eyes closed and fell into blissful unconsciousness.

**-Blood-**

"Where are Draco and Orion?" Blaise asked Pansy as he and Theo rejoined the girls during their walk about the ballroom.

"No idea, we thought they were with you," Pansy said with a frown. Glancing around, she didn't spot the trademark Malfoy blond hair, except when she saw Narcissa and Lucius talking to her parents.

"Maybe they went to get some air? It might have been a bit much for Orion," She suggested with a small shrug.

"Maybe..." Blaise trailed off, not looking at all convinced. "Let's go ask Lucius and Narcissa," he said, steering the group towards the adults only to see a house elf pop up next to Pansy's parents.

A moment of conversation and suddenly all four adults, closely followed by Severus and the Dark Lord bolted towards the coat room.

"What the hell," Theo mumbled, looking at his friends curiously.

"Something must have happened," Daphne mused thoughtfully. Loud shouts were soon heard, as the music had quieted with the disappearance of Pansy's parents from the ball. After what seemed like an eternity the shouting stopped and Pansy's parents reappeared, both looking slightly harassed.

"We'd like to thank you all for coming," Lord Parkinson said, after casting a spell to make his voice project. "However, due to some unforeseen circumstances we must call tonight's festivities to an end earlier then planned. Please make your way to the floo or to the safest apparition point post haste. Thank you once again for coming." With that, they disappeared back into the cloak room.

All five Slytherins looked at one another worriedly; not much would cancel a New Years ball early, so whatever had happened must have been bad. Quickly all of Pansy's friends were collected by their parents and rushed to the floo, and the poor girl was left standing in the empty ballroom wondering what the hall had happened.

**-Blood-**

As soon as the ballroom was cleared, Tom hoisted Orion into his arms and Lucius took Draco. Thanks to Lord Parkinson bending the wards, the family was directly able to apparate out of the cloakroom and into Malfoy Manor. Severus had taken care of Bellatrix, stunning her and taking her back to Riddle Manor for her to be punished, at a later date.

"What the hell did she do to them?" Lucius roared once both boys were settled in Draco's bed, parents and godparents hovering around them.

"Crucio," Severus said as he fed Draco some potions he'd created to counteract the effects of the Cruciatus curse.

"She hit my son with a Cruciatus" Lucius hissed while Narcissa let out a pained little gasp and smoothed back Draco's hair.

"What about Orion? What did she do to him?" Lucius hissed as Severus began casting diagnostic spells at his youngest son.

"No idea," Severus mumbled while Tom shuffled about, not sure what to do but unwilling to leave lest he go to his Manor and actually kill Bellatrix.

"Something to his throat," Severus mumbled, gently touching the bruised skin. Orion was unconscious still and Draco had been placed in a drugged sleep until the pain potions kicked in.

"His vocal chords are damaged," Severus mumbled, though he seemed to be mainly talking to himself. "Burnt," he mumbled, shooting up and rushing to his potion bag.

"What?" Lucius asked frantically. "What did that bitch do to my child?" He hissed, wanting to grab Severus and shake the answers out of him.

"She cast the bruciato* curse," Severus hissed at his friend as he poured potion after potion down Orion's sleep slackened mouth. Carefully he rubbed the boy's damaged throat, trying to help the potions move down the damaged organ without causing Orion unnecessary pain.

"The bruciato curse? What is that?" Narcissa asked worriedly, still seated with Draco though her eyes were fixated on Orion's face.

"The burning curse," Tom said, falling roughly into a chair. "It's a dark spell, designed to burn a victim from the inside out while killing them slowly. It only stays in the area where the spell is initially cast, like the arm or stomach for example. Though it doesn't usually kill because it can be stopped, it can cause permanent damage if not stopped quickly," he added, looking worriedly at Orion.

"Will he have more damage Severus?" Narcissa asked the man, once he was done with the potions.

"He has sustained some major damage to his vocal chords. He likely won't be able to speak for a few days; however I believe we caught it before anything to bad could happen. At most he'll have a very husky voice and may not be able to speak beyond a certain chord. He may have residual pain occasionally, but we'll only be able to tell with time."

Narcissa nodded, her face turning hard as she looked at Tom.

"I want to speak to Bella when you do. She has crossed the line this time, she attacked my children," The woman said, her silver-blue eyes, so like those of her youngest son, flashed dangerously and the Dark Lord could only nod in agreement. Narcissa Malfoy nee Black was not a woman he wanted angry at him. She may appear dainty and delicate but attack her family, especially her children, and you'd find out just what a Black was capable of.

* * *

*bruciato: Burnt in Italian (or so I'm told)

**A/N: Want updates on my stories? Follow me on twitter BloodyRed_Queen**


	12. Consequences

**Disclaimer: HP and Co. belong to J.K. Rowling, not myself.**

**A/N: Special Thanks to my beta ********cocobyrd87. So here's chapter 12 for you guys, hope you enjoy. There's a bit of a time skip in this chapter, as it starts off with Sirius and Remus at the Weasleys for Christmas dinner before jumping forward to current events with the Malfoys.**

**********R/R**

Chapter Twelve: Consequences

Sirius and Remus stepped out of the floo into the crowded living room of the Burrow. Remus, who flooed through first, was met with the sight of the entire family sitting in the small living room. The entire room was covered in Christmas decorations, a large tree crammed into the corner of the room. Molly's favourite singer (which no one else could stand) was warbling over the Wizarding Wireless Radio, and the entire room had a remarkably festive feel to it.

"Sirius, Remus, welcome," Molly said as she pulled herself up from the love seat she'd been sharing with Arthur and bustled to meet the boys. Remus greeted her demurely while Sirius tried to adjust to all the sights and colour.

Being cooped up in dank, dark Grimmauld place sort of wreaked havoc on one's senses, and even Christmas at the Malfoy's had been sedate, with tasteful decorations-not this. This room looked like someone had vomited Christmas cheer all over the place.

Chuckling at the thought, Sirius greeted Molly and Arthur as the matriarch of the Weasley family manhandled the pair to the nearest available couch (Fred and George and been forcibly vacated with shouts of 'hey' and 'oi' ) and settled the pair of men down, before bustling into the kitchen to make hot chocolate for everyone.

Soon the family was filling the kitchen table. The table was laden down with numerous dishes and Sirius was convinced that the table had to have reinforcing spells on it, or the entire table would have collapsed.

"Dig in," Molly said with a grin as she bustled about, putting certain foods on plates and pointing out items she thought someone would enjoy. Remus and Sirius would have both relaxed and enjoyed the evening if they hadn't known what was coming. The entire evening Molly and Arthur had been shooting one another covert looks, as well as looking intently at Remus and Sirius but they hadn't said anything yet.

Finally as dinner came to a close and the younger kids were chased off, Fred pressing a note secretly into Remus' hand as they walked past, Molly served coffee and Arthur pinned the two men with a stare.

"Are you going to tell us?" The man asked curiously. "Albus mentioned that you spent the last few days at Malfoy Manor celebrating Christmas with Harry." Sirius cringed; Orion hated being called Harry now that he was no longer a Potter.

"Tell you what?" Remus asked in that calm, even tone of his. "That we saw a happy, healthy young teen? A child who is, arguably for the first time in his life, content and safe? Because if you want us to tell you that Orion"-he stressed the word 'Orion'- "is being abused or mistreated by his real family, you shouldn't hold your breath. The Malfoys are treating him and Draco exceptionally well, just like any good parents," he stated, tone becoming stern towards the end of his little spiel.

Molly looked scandalized, as if that weren't exactly what she and Arthur weren't getting at.

"You can report back to Albus that we said nothing," Sirius growled, sounding much like his dog counterpart.

"My godson is happy and healthy and he is finally with his real family. That is something you and the rest of the Order have to accept and move on from. Harry Potter no longer exists; hell he never really did. The light just has to find some other way to deal with the dark faction rather then expect some teenage boy to do it. It was wrong to heap that kind of pressure on Harry Potter, and it is even more wrong to try and slander his home life in an effort to get him back, just so he can retake that mantle once again. Just let him be happy. If you ever really cared for him as a person, not just an icon or name, you need to let him be happy," Sirius argued, ignoring Remus' surprised look at the eloquence of his speech.

Molly frowned, shaking her head vehemently.

"That boy has a job to do. Just because his name has changed doesn't mean he doesn't have responsibilities. He has a responsibility to the light, to our cause and he needs to come back and deal with that. When he's done his job he can go back to having his little home life," Molly snarled.

"Could he really Molly?" Remus asked calmly. "Could Orion go back to being Harry Potter just to kill Voldemort?" He ignored the flinch at the man's name.

"And then would the public, would all of you, let him go back to being Orion Malfoy? Don't pretend; he'd do the job and the public would turn on him, just like they always do. Turn on him, declare him insane or a killer and then have him tossed in Azkaban. Hell Molly, you'd probably lead that charge, trumpet on and on about how he's endangered your family, dragged your son and daughter along for the ride. You all profess to care about him, but the minute he steps out of line or does something you all deem to be 'dark' or 'evil', you all change your opinion," Remus stated calmly, setting his mug back down on the table and patted Sirius on the shoulder.

"Know this Arthur, Molly: we stand behind Orion, just like we always have, regardless of his name or family- we stand behind that young man. Whether he chooses to be dark, neutral or light, he will always have our support. And since we know that that won't go over well with the Order," Sirius took a deep breath and grinned maliciously, "I, Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Nobel House of Black, do hereby revoke the rights of the Order of the Phoenix to use the Ancestral Black Home, Grimmauld place, as their headquarters."

With that final, parting remark, making sure the Order no longer had access to the house (or could even remember where it was thanks to the Fidelus Charm), the pair quickly headed outside and past the apparition wards. They were thankful that their little speech had stunned the pair into submission, and apparated a way.

Landing on the top step of stairs into Grimmauld Place, Sirius de-solved into near hysterical giggles as Remus dragged him inside.

"D-Did you see there faces? Oh Merlin's balls that was funny," Sirius said as he collapsed into a dusty chair in the sitting room. Remus chuckled, nodding in agreement.

"I think it was your mannerisms that threw them, to be honest," The werewolf said sagely. "You were so eloquent and coherent. No screaming or shouting, threatening them with your wand. It was rather impressive." Remus explained at Sirius' curious look. The Dog animagus grinned, having the grace to look slightly ashamed.

"I figured if I want to integrate with society once again, I have to control my temper. I channeled my inner Lucius Malfoy," Sirius said with a grin.

"Well I'm proud of you," Remus said with a smile. "It will be good to tell Orion what happened when we see him next, he was rather worried about us going to see the Weasleys. He's been having run-ins with Ronald and Ginevra at school."

"We'll floo them later to work out our next visit. They're fairly busy with parties for the next few days, or so Lucius said." Sirius piped up. Remus nodded in agreement and the pair spent the rest of Christmas night talking and joking, sharing a bottle of Ogden's finest between them.

**-Blood-**

Lucius and Narcissa were sitting together next to the bed that housed their two sons. Neither had felt comfortable splitting up the family unit just yet, not since the boys were attacked.

Miraculously, when the pair had woken up, Orion had been able to talk in sort of a husky whisper, which was a lot more then initially expected. Draco still had a mild case of the shakes, which was understandable since he'd been hit with numerous Crucios in a short amount of time.

The attack had been two days ago, and still the family refused to split up. Draco and Orion were very close and it soothed them to be near one another. Lucius and Narcissa were just happy that the boys were both on their way to full recoveries, but they still didn't feel comfortable being away for a long time.

Tom had stopped by daily, spending a few hours with the family at a time, before he went off and did whatever it was a Dark Lord did. Severus jokingly (yes Severus jokes) said that he was knitting in his spare time, but that was just Severus. Speaking of the feared Potions' Master, he had been staying at the Manor, though he normally left after Christmas to return to Hogwarts to prepare for the return of students. This year, he had stayed in order to keep an eye on the boys and make sure they had their potions.

Bellatrix was still being held in the dungeons of Riddle Manor. No one had approached her per the Dark Lord's orders, since he had agreed to let Narcissa be the first (besides himself) to 'talk' to her. They were waiting until the boys were doing a little bit better before Narcissa and Tom went to show Bella the error of her ways. Until then, they were content to leave her sitting in a dank, dark, and musty dungeon with a house elf occasionally popping in to check on her and toss some food at her to make sure she didn't die before Narcissa or Tom got that pleasure.

"Mum?" Draco's voice sounded hoarsely from the bed as the blond slowly sat up, stretching as he did so. His sore and achy muscles were finally gone, thanks to Severus and his incredible potions. His parents were still hovering protectively however, making sure he got plenty of rest and took copious amounts of potions, not that he blamed them. Being hit with the Cruciatus curse, courtesy of his own aunt, had been an eye opening experience.

He'd always known Bella was insane, everyone had, but she had never lashed out at her own family before. Normally she cooed and bounced around them, cackling insanely, but she'd never attacked them. She argued with Lucius, yes, but this was a whole other ballgame for Draco. He sort of understood her animosity towards Orion, since in Bella's mind, he was Harry Potter and a threat to her master, but it was still stupid.

"Yes Draco?" Narcissa asked as she rose from the couch and went to help her son. Draco gently shrugged off her fluttering hands, though he offered her a small smile.

"M'fine Mum," he murmured. "I was just seeing if you and Dad were still here." It wasn't uncommon for their parents to watch them while they slept. Lucius chuckled softly, drawing his son's attention.

"I doubt your mother will be willing to leave you two alone until you're on the train back to Hogwarts," the blond aristocrat said with a soft grin. Draco snorted but nodded in agreement; he knew his parents were worried about them, especially since they were still dealing with the nightmares surrounding their youngest son. The fact that this attack had happened, and by someone in the family, if not someone they trusted, had shaken them.

"I need something to eat," Draco murmured, rubbing his throat lightly; it was still sore from the screaming he'd done.

"Let's go get some lunch," Narcissa murmured to Draco. "We'll send an elf to bring you and Orion something." She added, glancing at her husband. The youngest Malfoy was still asleep, though he'd awaken soon, now that Draco was out of the bed. Lucius nodded in agreement, Orion had grown accustomed to waking up with someone in the room the last few days; it helped ease his nightmares since the attack.

Narcissa and Draco walked sedately down the hall, the demure woman watching her oldest son warily. Draco was healed, minus the sore throat and occasional shakes which would disappear in time, but she was still shaken. Seeing her sister attack her sons had done something to Narcissa, she loved her sister but knowing what she was capable of, knowing she had willing gone after and hurt the two people that mattered more to Narcissa then anyone or anything in this world, had destroyed whatever bond the pair had had. She wanted to strip the flesh from her sister's bones, make her feel the pain a mother felt when someone attacked or harmed their child.

**-Blood-**

Tom watched Severus curiously; the man was brewing some experimental potions he'd created in order to help heal Orion's throat. Though the teen was recovering, physically, faster then any of them had dared to hope, the date of returning to school was rapidly approaching and Severus wanted Orion to be as healed as possible for that- they all did.

Dumbledore and his Order were still looking for every excuse to get their Golden Boy back, and if they found out about Bellatrix's attack, they may just have the ammunition needed to go to the Ministry and have the Malfoys declared unfit parents. It was unlikely, since everyone had seen what Dumbledore's manipulations had done to Harry Potter, but it wasn't a risk any of them were willing to take.

"Shall we go have lunch now Severus?" Tom asked curiously as the man stepped away from the cauldron, looking at the smoke spiraling off of it critically.

"Yes, this needs to simmer for an hour," the dour potions' master said, spelling the area around the cauldron with a shield, just to be safe. He'd been working on this all morning and it was his fifth and hopefully final trial. If it worked, it would repair the damage to Orion's vocal chords by targeting the burnt areas. The flesh in his throat was so sensitive, it couldn't be grown back by means of a regular skin-regrowth potion or spell, hence the special potion Severus was making.

Talking softly, the two men slowly made their way towards the small dining room, both pausing in pleased surprise as they saw Narcissa and Draco chatting quietly over a lunch of soup and sandwiches. Settling at the table, the two men were served quickly by the elves before talk turned to Potions and Severus and Draco started a lively debate over the merits of using salamander's blood over newt eyes in a potion.

Sharing an exasperated, yet fond look, Narcissa and Tom started the slightly more serious discussion of what was to happen to Bellatrix.

"We need to wait till the boys return to Hogwarts," Narcissa murmured, sipping her tea. "We can't risk something else happening. Orion's terrified of her, not that I blame him. He heard rumors about her when he was living as Potter." Tom nodded in agreement.

"She can last in the dungeons till then. She's getting food and water whenever the elves feel she deserves it; they reacted poorly to some of the things she called them. They have orders to keep her alive however, if not healthy," the Dark Lord murmured, grinning lightly. Narcissa nodded in agreement.

"Have you decided if you want her to continue to live?" The blonde woman asked curiously. She knew what she wanted, but Bella had been a faithful, if not sane, follower to the Dark Lord and she was extremely useful in some situations.

"Yes," Tom murmured. "As useful as Bella has been, her insanity is getting to be too erratic to control. She has overstepped the line this time and she needs to be punished for it. We can't risk anything else like this happening again- if that means death, then so be it."

The grin that graced Narcissa's face was enough to startle the Dark Lord and draw shivers from both Draco and Severus. It was moments like this that reminded Severus and Tom that the lovely, aristocratic woman seated in front of them was also a Black.

**-Blood-**

"That insane BITCH!" Sirius roared as he withdrew from the fire, inhaling a mouthful of ash as he did so. A startled Remus rushed forward and began pounding Sirius on the back, not that the action was overly useful. Finally, Sirius' lungs were cleared and Remus steered the aggravated man towards a chair, demanding answers all the way.

"Bellatrix attacked Orion and Draco at the Parkinson's New Years party," Sirius explained to his anxious friend.

"What? Are they okay?" Remus demanded, jumping up, ready to storm back to the fire and floo to Malfoy Manor. Sirius grabbed his arm, pulling him back down.

"They'll recover," Sirius murmured. "Lucius said she hit Draco with a prolonged cruciatus and she hit Orion with the bruciato curse." Remus sucked in a breath; he knew a lot about curses and the bruciato was particularly nasty.

"They'll be alright though?" The werewolf asked, hands flapping nervously.

"Yes, Lucius said that Draco is almost one hundred percent, just a mild case of the shakes and a sore throat. Orion has damaged vocal chords, but Severus is creating a potion to repair the damage. They're confident they'll be healthy for returning to school in two days. They invited us for dinner tomorrow. Lucius knows we want to see them and he wants to discuss the Ministry and clearing my name, before Dumbledore does something similar to get us back in the Order's pocket," the dog animagus said, raking his fingers through his hair.

"Sounds good," Remus murmured, rubbing a hand over his face. Damn he wanted a piece of Bellatrix now; the bitch had hurt his pups. Yes, he now considered Draco to be part of his pack, and he wanted nothing more then to let the insane woman come face-to-face with Moony in a dark alley.

Shaking his head, Sirius stared into the flames, shoving his hands in his pockets as he contemplated his insane cousin. He knew she was dead; if Tom didn't kill her, Narcissa or Moony would. As his hands wormed their way into thread-bare pockets, his fingers brushed on the forgotten note that Fred had given him at the disastrous Weasley dinner.

Pulling out the crumpled paper, he spread it open and scanned the page, a small grin worming its way onto his face. Grinning, he glanced at Moony before handing him the note. The werewolf's brow furrowed as he read, before he grinned.

"We'll have to show this to Orion, he thought he'd lost all the Weasleys when all of this blood line stuff came into the light," Remus murmured, re-folding the note and tucking it away. He knew, from talking to Orion, the Weasley twins had never been mean to him at school once he had embraced his Malfoy-ness, however he had never expected them to retain a friendship with him, at least a close ones. He had assumed they were acquaintances, the twins and Neville.

This changed things though and Remus knew that the Dark (or at least neutral side) had gained two allies. People sold the twins short, believing their dreams of owning a joke shop were immature and pointless. Remus knew differently; the twins were clever, incredibly clever and they had created many different, ingenious products. They would be useful as either allies or knowing that they would be sitting out of the war. It was a win-win situation no matter how you looked at it and the werewolf knew that Orion and the rest of the Malfoy clan, including Tom (perhaps not Severus), would be pleased.

**-Blood-**

Albus scowled as he read the letter from Molly, their damn owl flopping around on his desk loosing feathers left, right and center.

Shaking his head, he crumpled up the parchment and tossed it on the floor in a fit of anger. He had felt the wards on Grimmauld Place change and reject him and the Order, which meant something had happened with Remus and Sirius. He had known that they were spending Christmas Dinner with the Weasleys and it seemed that it hadn't gone according to plan. Molly and Arthur had messed up and lost Albus not only a good financial backer (the Black vaults), but also a headquarters and an in with the werewolf groups. Damn the Weasleys anyway.

Shaking his head he rose, clutching Errol the owl in his hands and walked to the open window. Tossing the owl out, he watched it fall dispassionately before righting itself and taking off in limp towards the Burrow. Stupid bird, it had gotten feathers everywhere. He summoned an elf to clean his office before he swept down the spiral stairs and went to find Minerva; she may have some insight on the whole Sirius-Remus matter.

**-Blood-**

Orion grinned at his Dad as Lucius settled a tray over his lap as he propped himself up in bed. It was too late to go down and join the others for lunch, so Orion was enjoying a meal in bed with the company of his father.

The luxury of eating in bed was still something that Orion looked forward to with childish delight. He had often seen Dudley get to eat in bed when he was sick, or lazy, or just because he wanted to. And Vernon and Petunia had eaten in bed on special occasions like anniversaries or birthdays, but he had never had the chance until his first morning at Malfoy Manor.

**-Flash Back-**

_Orion shifted slowly, wincing at the tight pulling of his half-healed scars. Eyes opened slowly, he was surprised to be greeted with a light blue ceiling, not the glaring white of St. Mungo's. Everything came rushing back, and he realized he was lying in bed in his family home, in Malfoy Manor. A small grin came over his features as he gingerly sat up, stretching as he did so._

_"Morning son." An amused voice sounded from beside him. Turning, Orion felt his cheeks flame as he saw his entire family standing right next to the bed. He'd been too focused on the ceiling colour to notice the three Malfoys standing next to the bed, watching him._

_"Morning," he squeaked, face flaming more at the highness of his voice. Draco chuckled, but it wasn't the cruel, laughing at you he had done in the past. It was more of a fond chuckle, causing Orion to relax slightly._

_"How did you sleep?" Narcissa asked, sitting down on the bed and smoothing his blankets absentmindedly._

_"Really good," Orion responded, surprised. He rarely had a good night sleep, but for the first time in a long while, he had slept really well. Why, he didn't know, but he had a few suspicions._

_Lucius grinned and sat down on Orion's opposite side, leaving room for Draco to squirm in next to his younger brother._

_Orion looked mildly surprised at how affectionate his family was being, but over the last few weeks in the hospital he had learned just how kind the Malfoy family was, behind closed doors. Grinning, he let Draco carefully snuggle him into his side while Narcissa summoned an elf (why, he didn't know, he was too busy being caught up in the whirlwind of emotions that had surfaced with everything that had and was happening)._

_Moments later an elf appeared, baring a huge tray of different breakfast foods. A second later, everyone had a tray across their knees and was digging in to a delicious breakfast, except for Orion._

_"What?" Draco asked, sipping his tea as he eyed his shocked looking brother._

_"I've never had breakfast in bed before," Orion admitted, cheeks flaming once again as three heads whirled to look at him._

_"Never?" Narcissa asked, surprised. It was a luxury the entire family enjoyed upon occasion, however thinking about how the muggles had treated her son, it shouldn't have been a surprise that Orion had never experienced this simple luxury. He'd eaten in bed before, but in a strictly medical sense, when he was too ill or to injured to leave the hospital bed._

_This was different however, breakfast in bed with your family was something to be savoured and enjoyed -an experience everyone should have. Grinning, Orion took a careful spoonful of yogurt, since he was still on a diet of light, easy foods, and sighed contently. He could very easily get used to this._

**-End Flash Back-**

Lucius glanced at his son who seemed engrossed in his soup, a small grin on his face.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked his youngest curiously.

"First time I ever had breakfast in bed," Orion murmured. "My first morning here," he clarified.

"I remember," Lucius said with a grin; it had been a good memory. It was the first time they'd shared a meal as a family in their ancestral home, and it had felt like the Malfoy family was finally complete.

"Its one of my favourite memories," Orion murmured, grinning at his Dad.

"Is it? Why?" Lucius asked curiously. It was one of his as well, but he had had no idea that Orion felt the same way.

"It was my first real meal with my family. Sure we ate in Mungo's together, but I don't count that as a family meal," the young blond explained. "It was the first time we were all really together in the Manor, beyond the night when we flooed back from the hospital."

"Makes sense, its one of my favourite memories as well," Lucius said. "For many of the same reasons," he added, rubbing his son's blanketed knee fondly. Orion grinned, sipping his soup carefully, not wanting to spill the warm liquid everywhere.

Lucius sighed, pleased to hear that Orion's voice was recovering and he didn't seem as badly effected as they had thought he might be. The conversation was still hushed, and Orion's voice had taken on a husky tone, though Lucius wasn't convinced that it didn't suit him.

"You sound better, how's your throat?" He asked curiously, looking at his son as he continued to nibble on his food.

"Less sore," Orion replied. "Still hurts, but the soup helps. It gets worse when it's dry or if I try and talk too much. Like yesterday with Drake, when he was helping me with homework, I lost my voice half way through bugging him about potions," Orion murmured softly, accepting a cup of tea from his father, knowing it was laced with mild pain potions.

"Ah," Lucius said. He hoped Severus' potion worked; he knew Orion was worried about going back to school and not being able to communicate. He was still having problems with his hand, though it had improved slightly now that the infection was gone and Severus had developed a new balm to help with the residual soreness.

However, spells and writing were still an issue, though they were slowly improving the more Orion practiced. Without the full use of his voice, even temporarily, Lucius knew that Orion was worried about falling behind in school. If it came down to it, Lucius would keep him home until his voice fully recovered and then send him back to school. It was a last resort, but it was an option if Orion was truly worried. However, Lucius had a lot of faith in Severus and his potions, so they would just have to see where the cards fell.

"Do you want to get out of bed?" Lucius asked his son as they finished lunch. "Draco is with your mother and Uncles in the sitting room; you two could play chess or something," Lucius suggested, chuckling at the brilliant smile that lit Orion's face.

Summoning an elf to get rid of their lunch things, Lucius and Orion headed down the hallway towards the family room. Orion was still in his pajamas, though he had slipped on some socks and a house coat. Heading into the family room, he made a bee-line to the couch nearest the fire, joining his brother who immediately began to set up the chess board. Orion was slowly getting better at chess; he had yet to win a game, but he seemed to enjoy it and Draco was a patient teacher.

"How is he?" Narcissa asked as Lucius settled next to her on the love seat. Severus had gone back to brewing while Tom was sat across from the Malfoy parents, sipping on some wine, his eyes drifting back between the boys and Lucius and Narcissa.

"His voice sounds a bit better. He says if it's dry or he talks too much he looses it or it hurts a bit more, but he is improving," the Malfoy Lord said with a grin.

"Well at least he's improving," Narcissa replied as Tom made a humming noise of agreement.

"Ah, I spoke to Sirius today," Lucius piped up suddenly. "He and Remus are coming for dinner tomorrow night. I've spoken to the Ministry and Amelia Bones about getting Sirius a fair trial, and its looking good," he added, smiling softly at Tom. Tom grinned; having the backing of the Black Lord in the war would be extraordinarily helpful.

"That's fantastic! If we can clear Sirius' name, we could help our cause. He'd be a lot more useful to have around then Pettigrew," Tom said thoughtfully. Perhaps he could rig it so Peter ended up at the Ministry when Lucius and Sirius went to speak to the Ministry.

"Did you tell them about the boys?" Narcissa asked curiously; she knew both men would be livid at the attack on the two boys.

"Yes. Sirius was far from impressed and I have a feeling Remus will be rather put out as well. He may wish to join you two in dealing with her. His wolf thinks of the boys as his pups; he won't take an attack on them kindly," Lucius murmured.

"Perhaps we can arrange something," Tom said with a grin. Death by werewolf may be amusing, especially since it may bring Remus further into the dark sect and into Greyback's pack. He knew the senior werewolf wanted that, wanted to reintroduce Remus to werewolf life and this may just be the shove the younger man needed.

He'd need to talk to Fenrir, although he had a feeling that Fenrir would also want a piece of Bella. He was rather fond of Draco and had wanted to meet Orion for awhile. Fenrir was angry with Remus for abandoning wolf kind; this might be the thing needed to bring the two into a better contact with each other. Mind whirring, the Dark Lord sipped his wine, plots floating through his mind as he tried to use torturing Bella and subsequently to his advantage.

**-Blood-**

Orion furrowed his brow and looked over the board, contemplating his next move. His tongue poked out between his teeth as he thought. It was a subconscious action, but one that Draco couldn't help teasing him about.

"Ready to go back to school?" The older blond asked his brother curiously. They hadn't really discussed Hogwarts since the attack.

"Dunno," Orion mumbled, sipping his tea as he did so. His parents made sure he always had something to drink to help soothe his throat. "I want to go back but I'm worried about this." He touched his throat gingerly.

"Makes sense," Draco said. "You know Uncle Sev'll help you though, he's working really hard on this new potion he's developing," he added before going into a mini-lecture about the potion Severus was making that Orion maybe understood a word or two of.

Tom resisted the urge to chuckle as he watched Orion's face take on a dazed expression as Draco began to lecture him on the finer arts of creating a potion. It was rather adorable (not that the Dark Lord used words like adorable) to watch, especially since Orion did, valiantly, try to appear amused. The youngest Malfoy was just not potions oriented like his older brother and Severus.

Continuing to watch his young god son, the Dark Lord resumed his quiet plotting, though he continued to listen to the boys conversation, enjoying the time with the only people he considered his family. Perhaps the wine was making him a bit sentimental, but for once he didn't care. It wasn't often that someone was powerful as the Dark Lord felt completely safe and content, but these times in Malfoy Manor were some of the most calming times of his long life.

They were also beginning to be some of the most enjoyable; he had a family here. He had a godson; someone had trusted him enough to raise their child if something happened to them. Yes, he had many followers and allies, however none had ever trusted him with something so precious. Many accused him of favouring Lucius as a follower (the Malfoy Lord being deemed his right hand man), which was true, but none of his followers or allies had ever favoured him like Lucius had. Hence why the Malfoys were more then just followers, they were family. They were the few people he actually cared about and he be damned if anything ever happened to them again.

* * *

**A/N: interested in knowing when I'm going to post? Or how far I am in the writing Process? Have any questions or concerns? Feel freel to follow me on twitter BloodyRed_Queen **


	13. Freedom

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Co. belong to J.K. Rowling, not myself. **

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this one guys! RL got super busy, I'll try to update when I can, no worries about me not finishing/abandoning this work (or any of my others)**

**R/R!**

Chapter Thirteen: Freedom

Sirius smiled as he stepped through the floo from Grimmauld Place into the foyer of Malfoy Manor. It was the night before Draco and Orion returned to Hogwarts for the New Year and Lucius had invited Sirius and Remus to spend the evening at the Malfoy ancestral home. Practically bouncing down the hall to the family room, Sirius ran smack dab into a rather hard, slightly cushy surface.

"Oof!" The dog animagus grunted out as his back end acquainted itself with the lushly carpeted hallway of the Manor. A soft chuckling reached his ears and Sirius turned stormy grey eyes upward, only to have his jaw drop. Standing above him and extending a hand, presumably to help him up, was none other then Tom Riddle, otherwise known as Lord Voldemort, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, The Dark Lord, etcetera.

"Are you alright?" The man asked, arching a fine eyebrow at Sirius who was still gaping like a fish on the floor.

"Fine," the Black Lord wheezed, reluctantly letting The Dark Lord pull him to his feet. He wobbled for a moment, before steadying himself.

"Er thanks?" Sirius offered, face slightly flushed. "Sorry for running into you, I was just excited," he explained. Tom chuckled, offering the stammering Black Lord a soft grin. He was rather fond of the excitable man, not that he would admit that to anyone.

"It's fine," Tom reassured. "I can understand the excitement," he added with a small grin. He knew Sirius missed Orion and Draco and hadn't seen them in a number of days, thanks to his errant followers attack on the boys and the recovery period. Sirius grinned, letting his insides settle once he realized he wasn't going to be cursed into next Tuesday.

"Where's your werewolf friend?" Tom asked; normally the pair were inseparable.

"Remus? He'll be by later, he's looking for work in Diagon Alley," Sirius said, a frown on his face. He told Remus time and time again that he didn't need to work, that he could support the pair of them, but Remus was proud and refused to accept charity.

Tom nodded in understanding; he knew the werewolf laws were incredibly restrictive, he knew that Fenrir had complained about them time and time again, despite him and his pack living an almost completely feral life away from the Ministry and Ministry restrictions.

"They're in the family room now, if you wish to join them," The Dark Lord told Sirius, smiling his thanks. Sirius disappeared down the hall, heading towards the Malfoy family room, intent on seeing the boys.

Tom chuckled as he watched the man go, before turning and heading back down the hall, towards his own bedroom to collect a Potions' manual he had promised to lend to Draco. Normally he would ask and elf to get it, however he couldn't remember where he'd left the exact text and he wasn't sure he wanted an elf rifling through his things.

Sirius stepped into the family room, a soft smile coming unbidden to his lips at the sight of the gathered family. Draco was sitting opposite Orion in front of the fire, the two boys bent over a chess board, heads so close their hair was nearly touching. Lucius was sitting in an overstuffed arm chair, a lap desk across his legs holding a stack of parchment positioned in front of him, and a quill balanced in one hand. Narcissa was sitting near the boys, watching their game out of the corner of her eyes as she sipped on what was presumably a cup of tea, though knowing Cissa it could be brandy or something-the woman was a Black after all.

"Siri!" A slightly husky voice squeaked and Sirius soon found himself tackled to the floor, a comfortable weight on his chest. Making another 'oof' sound, Sirius bent his neck to glance down into the grinning face of his godson.

"Feeling better I take it?" He questioned, ignoring the chuckle that escaped Lucius as Orion clambered off of his chest.

"Much better," Orion said with a grin. His voice was still soft and somewhat husky, but it was nowhere near as bad as he had thought it would be.

"Good," Sirius said, standing up and dusting himself off before pulling Orion in for a tight hug. When his godson started squirming he released the young teen, letting him go join his brother again so they could resume their chess game.

"Sirius," Lucius greeted, setting aside his work in order to greet the man. Neither Malfoy parent appeared to care about their son's overzealous behaviour; instead, Narcissa was grinning amusedly and Draco was sniggering while Lucius attempted to keep a straight face though his grey eyes sparkled amusedly.

"Lucius," Sirius greeted, sitting down next to his cousin on the couch and watching the boys curiously.

"I spoke to the Minister," Lucius said suddenly, wincing as Sirius whipped his head around lighting fast. It had to have hurt and Lucius resisted the urge to rub his own neck in sympathy pains.

"And?" The dog animagus breathed, scarcely believing his ears. He didn't think Lucius would work so fast.

"He's willing to meet with me the day after the boys return to school. I hinted at what the meeting was about and he seemed open," he said with a small grin. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally happening.

"And what about Dumbledore? I know he wants me and Remus back under his thumb," Sirius said, chewing his lip nervously.

"Cornelius did say he was getting letters from the man, but he doesn't seem to be taking Dumbledore seriously-the man drives him nuts after all," Lucius said with a grin.

Sirius returned the smile, imperiously summoning a Malfoy house elf and asking the creature to bring him a glass of celebratory wine. Narcissa chuckled at her cousin's antics but like the rest of her family, she was pleased. Sirius (and Remus) had managed to worm their way inside the hearts of the family, especially after the pair's easy acceptance of Orion and his newfound heritage.

**-Blood-**

Orion groaned playfully, staring down dejectedly at the chess board; he had lost, again. Ignoring his brother's amused grin, he began packing away the game pieces, pointedly ignoring his game pieces which were hurling abuse at him for losing.

"Now what?" He asked Draco curiously. The older blond shrugged, glancing around the room. Remus had arrived about half an hour earlier, getting the same greeting from Orion that Sirius had received, however the werewolf hadn't fallen over, his superior strength allowing him to catch and hold the young teen rather then landing on his ass.

Orion huffed, nibbling on his lower lip. He was bored and he wanted something to do. He was actually a little excited about going back to school, nervous because of everything that had happened, but he was still looking forward to going back to the castle. At least Hogwarts was never boring; there was always something to do there, or someone to hang out with. As much as he loved being home, his parents and brother tended to hover and there really wasn't a whole lot to do at the Manor when everyone was being so overprotective since almost all the fun activities involved going outside and actually doing something.

Remus chuckled as Sirius regaled him with how he had arrived at the Manor.

"And you're not dead? You're luck astounds me," The amber-eyed man teased his friend, smiling as Orion came and clambered between the two men, snuggling against Siri who couldn't keep the grin off of his face.

"Bored?" Remus asked as Draco went to sit with his Uncle Tom, pestering the man about the potions' book he was lending him for his return to school.

"A bit," Orion said, wriggling as Sirius began to tickle him lightly.

"Still bored?" The dog animagus teased, still tickling his godson's sides playfully.

"S-stop it!" Orion laughed breathlessly, his huffy chuckles drawing the attention of his family.

Lucius smiled proudly, enjoying seeing his youngest son so happy and carefree. It was rare for Orion to relax so completely around everyone and it was a testament to how far he had come in the recent months that he was comfortable enough to let his guard down around them.

"Are you still bored?" Sirius persisted, fingers digging into Orion's side. He smirked as the boy writhed, trying to escape his godfather's fingers, though Remus was helping to hold the boy in place.

"N-no!" Orion huffed out, tears of mirth running down his face.

"Stop it," Draco said with a chuckle. "He's going to wet himself!" He added, ignoring his brother's glare.

"Dray!" Orion huffed, resenting his brother's implication.

"Just don't want you making a mess on the furniture," Draco quipped, chuckling as Sirius stopped his tickling.

"Draco," Lucius murmured, reprimanding his oldest son lightly. Teasing was alright occasionally but Lucius had a feeling that Orion wasn't enjoying this as much as Draco was.

Draco sighed, but ceased his teasing and returned his attention to his Uncle, who was explaining a rather difficult potion to him. Normally Severus would be doing the explaining but he was at Hogwarts, preparing for the students to return from the holidays.

Orion smiled thankfully at his father, letting his head rest against Remus' shoulder as the man sipped his wine and listened to Tom's explanation of the potion to Draco.

"Dinner is being ready!" an elf squeaked as it popped in to the family room. Lucius nodded to the elf and the group rose as one, heading down to the informal dining room to enjoy one last family meal before summer.

**-Blood-**

Orion yawned tiredly, his head falling to rest on Draco's shoulder as he stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express.

"Didn't sleep well?" Draco asked his brother curiously. He had slept fine, wanting one last good night in his own bed. He didn't mind the dorm room beds, but nothing beat his king size, plush mattress in his own room at the Manor. Orion shook his head tiredly.

"Couldn't fall asleep," Orion mumbled, fisting his eyes tiredly.

"Why not?" Draco asked curiously, ignoring his friends who were watching him and Orion closely.

"Dunno, was thinking," Orion said with a shrug, offering his brother a wry smile. He knew Draco was probably worried or concerned and he didn't want his brother fussing over him due to one missed night of sleep. He was used to sleepless nights, or at least Harry Potter was used to sleepless nights and he could manage.

Draco sighed, but nodded his head, returning to his conversation with Blaise about what they had done for Holidays.

Idle chatter continued in the train compartment, voices hushed as Orion was lulled to sleep by the movement of the train. Draco grinned and continued the conversation with his friends, glad that his brother was catching up on some much needed sleep.

**-Blood-**

Sirius fidgeted nervously in the sitting room of Malfoy Manor. Shaking his head, he sipped the tea that one of the elves had brought him while he waited for Lucius to get ready. Today was the day that he and Lucius were heading to the Ministry to try and clear his name. Narcissa and Tom were taking care of some 'business' as well, and Remus was probably joining them.

"Ready?" Lucius asked curiously as he entered the room. He looked very professional in a muggle suit though he had a traveling cloak over top.

"I suppose so," Sirius said, fighting to keep his voice from shaking. He knew deep down that this could go wrong, that he could end up back in Azkaban, and that thought terrified him.

Nibbling his lip nervously, Sirius followed Lucius into the floo, thankfully flooing directly into the Minister's office where he and Lucius would meet with not only the Minister but with

Amelia Bones, current head of the Department of Law Enforcement.

When Sirius stepped through the floo, Lucius was already informing Bones and Fudge about Sirius, but that didn't stop Bones' gasp and Fudge's unmanly shriek at his appearance. After calm was finally restored, Sirius was seated in a stiff-backed chair and allowing Bones to carefully extract his memories of what happened the night the Potter's died. Watching the pearly memories drift into the pensive, Sirius resisted the urge to shudder as his worst memories were dredged up.

"There," Bones said, casting Sirius a suspicious look before plunging headfirst into the pensive, leaving Fudge behind to keep an eye on the prisoner. Because that was what he was, at least until he was cleared.

An hour later Bones surged out of the pensive, eyes wide.

"You need to see this Cornelius," She said, looking at Sirius with a frown. She couldn't believe it, but he'd been telling the truth-Lucius Malfoy had been telling the truth. Once Cornelius saw the memories they would have no choice but to clear Sirius of all charges against him and then start a man-hunt for Peter Pettigrew. She sighed, sitting down at the desk to begin writing up the paper work for Cornelius and herself to sign once the Minister was out of the pensive.

Sirius fidgeted nervously, letting Lucius lay a calming hand on his shoulder as the two watched the pensive. Amelia had emerged from the pensive with an unreadable expression and was now writing furiously at the desk. Finally, what felt like hours later, Fudge emerged gasping from the pensive.

"He-He-He-" he stammered, staring at Sirius and Lucius doing a fair impression of a fish out of water before he managed to pull himself together.

"You're innocent?" He asked, causing Lucius to arch his eyebrow. "I mean he's innocent," Fudge stated, trying to pull himself together.

"Yes I am," Sirius said, Lucius nodding in agreement.

"I can't believe it," Fudge murmured, falling into his chair, recently vacated by Amelia and poured himself a small glass of fire whiskey. Amelia pushed the paper in front of him, handing the man the quill before pinning Sirius with an apologetic look.

"I, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, do hereby clear you, Sirius Orion Black, of all charges brought against you by the Ministry of Magic and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Cornelius said, signing his signature with a flourish. "You will also be awarded a sum of galleons which will be calculated, in order to make reparations for your time spent in Azkaban," he added, with a small frown.

"Please send any paperwork to my lawyer," Lucius stated. "He'll review the case and make sure the amount is deemed fair." Fudge nodded, Amelia looked slightly put out, but she couldn't disagree; Sirius had been wrongly imprisoned, without a trial, for twelve years.

"I would like to apologize for this...mess," she said, grimacing at the word mess. It really made light of the whole situation. Judging by the twin sneers shot in her direction, both men found the word just as undesirable as she did.

"We'll be in contact," Lucius drawled, inclining his head to the pair before sweeping out of the room, Sirius on his heels, shooting a pleased look over his shoulder at the Minister and Amelia.

As soon as they were free of the office and heading to the main floos, Sirius let out an excited 'whoop' and commenced dancing around, much to Lucius' horror.

"I'm free!" The Dog animagus cheered, ignoring the looks shot his direction by various ministry-goers. Lucius resisted the urge to slap his forehead and groan, instead he continued on his route, using his patented Malfoy glare to terrify people staring at the slightly crazed man still dancing in his wake. Finally he made it to the floos and he and Sirius were on their way to Malfoy Manor where Sirius immediately headed to Grimmauld place to find Moony and tell him everything.

Collapsing in a chair in the family room, calling for wine as his wife and Tom shot him amused glances. Finally, once he had drained his glass of red, he filled the pair in, glowering at them when they laughed as he explained Sirius' uncouth behaviour in the wake of his freedom.

"He was always the so-called 'white' sheep of the Black family," Narcissa said, hiding her smile behind her hand since Lucius still looked less then amused with Sirius' antics.

**-Blood-**

As the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station at Hogsmead, Draco nudged Orion awake and helped him into his robe; he knew he should have woken his younger brother earlier, however he knew Orion needed the sleep after not getting any the night before.

Finally the pair made their way off of the train, joining the throngs of students who had gone home for the holidays as they made their way towards the line of carriages. Surrounded by familiar faces, Orion felt a small smile tug at the corners of his lips.

For once he didn't feel scared. After everything that had happened over Christmas with Bellatrix, he felt better, a lot more confident then he had felt in awhile. After the summer, he had always felt so unsure about everything; however after surviving Bellatrix and realizing that his bravery and stubbornness was still there, even if it was hidden under all his uncertainty, had given him a boost of confidence.

He could defend himself, he could learn how to use magic with his left hand and he would make his family proud. He knew he'd always have to deal with the over protectiveness of his entire family, extended included, but he sort of enjoyed it (though he now knew he could handle himself and that feeling pleased him immensely).

Still smiling, he clambered into the carriage, ignoring Draco's questioning look, not wanting to get into everything with their friends in the carriage. Plus he sort of doubted Draco would understand the realization he had just had. The older blond, Slytherin to the bone of course, would just argue that Orion didn't need to be able to look after himself- he was a Malfoy and a Slytherin after all and had tons of people watching his back.

Orion, of course understood that, but he wanted to be able to protect and defend himself. He had enemies at the school in the form of his former friends, the Headmaster and even some of the Professors. Even if Umbridge was gone, he wanted to be able to handle himself in any situation that arose; he couldn't always rely on Draco, Severus or the others to come to his defense, nor should he have to.

**-Blood-**

Orion flopped down on one of the large, leather couches in Slytherin Common Room. Dinner had been interesting, as usual. Gryffindors had glared, Dumbledore had given a weird speech and announced that a new Defense teacher had been found and would be arriving later that week, until then Defense class periods could be used as a study block.

Many students groaned at that announcement, especially those students who were taking their OWLs or NEWTs that year. Orion, personally, wasn't worried; the extra study time would be useful in beginning to train his left hand at wand work and to work on his writing skills. He had practiced a bit over Christmas, but he wasn't going to say no to any extra practice time.

"So who do you think it is?" Pansy asked, settling next to Orion and looking around the others.

"Who?" Blaise asked curiously from his seat opposite her.

"The new defense teacher," Pansy said, rolling her eyes at Blaise, the 'duh' clearly implied by her scathing look.

"Oh," Blaise muttered, "no idea, guess we'll found out in a week." He added with a shrug. Pansy's face pinched, clearly annoyed at Blaise's response.

"I know that," She drawled. "Still it would be nice to know who's taking over the class, you'd think with all the connections of Slytherin house we'd have some idea who it was," she added, shooing a look around the Common Room.

Draco chuckled at Pansy's annoyed glower, as if her eyes could somehow leech their secrets from them.

"Do you know?" She asked Draco, eyes shining. Pansy was like a dog with a bone when it came to something she didn't know and she wouldn't let up until she found out.

"No," Draco said with a frown. "Father probably knows though, I could owl and ask him."

"Why does it matter? Like Blaise said we'll find out in a week," Orion piped up. "Just use the study period to study defense and you'll be fine," he added, resisting the urge to blush as all eyes landed on him.

"But what if it's a teacher who favours Gryffindors? Or is like Umbridge and doesn't teach us anything!" Pansy wailed.

"Then talk to Professor Snape, he agreed to teach you guys defense privately if things continued poorly with Umbridge. I'm sure he'll uphold that promise if the new Professor is equally bad," Orion said, rolling his eyes lightly.

Pansy looked thoughtful before nodding and letting the subject drop. None of them were naive enough to believe that she would let the matter drop entirely, but she would for the remainder of the evening at least.

Finally the group rose, quietly heading to their own dormitory rooms, needing to get some sleep before the busy day tomorrow. The only bonus was that for Orion, his first class was supposed to have been defense. Instead he could study or (just this once) perhaps sleep in, though he had gotten a good nap on the train. Dimming the lights, Orion slithered into bed, letting Draco go about his lengthy bedtime routine.

This was the one thing he liked about having his own bedroom at Malfoy Manor, he didn't have to put up with Draco's 'primping' as Pansy and Narcissa called it.

"Stop rolling your eyes brat. Skin and hair care is very important," Draco called from the bathroom.

"For women perhaps!" Orion called back, snuggling into his blankets, smiling as Night jumped on the bed, butting him in the chin before curling up on his pillow.

"I am not a woman!" Draco hissed, sticking his head out of the shared bathroom, his face slathered in some white cream.

"Uh huh," Orion deadpanned, ducking his head to keep from giggling at the sight. Draco just huffed and disappeared back into the washroom, shutting the door loudly behind him. Inside he could be heard grumbling about annoying little brothers and the importance of hygiene.

* * *

**A/N: **

**Some people have complained about how weak Orion is, or that this is really just a 'sick Harry story'. I'm sorry that you feel this way, that is not what I intended with this story. However, this chapter is sort of a turning point in that behaviour, after New Years, Orion learned some things and has a bit of a backbone. Please keep in mind that Orion has been through some fairly traumatic experiences and isn't going to be '100%' again for quite some time. With that being said (ranted) I hope you guys enjoy this update!**


	14. Romance in the Air?

**Disclaimer: HP and Co. belong to J.K. Rowling, not myself. **

**A/N: Sorry for the wait guys =] Not a ton of Orion and Draco in this chapter, but some very interesting developments. On a side note, Blood Matters has hit just over 400! reviews. YOU GUYS ROCK! Thank you so much =]  
Also, thank you to my beta __************cocobyrd87**

**************R/R**

Chapter 14: Romance in the Air?

Sirius grinned as he and Remus walked confidently down Diagon Alley ignoring the speculative glances from the shopping patrons. He was free, he knew that and they knew that but of course witches and wizards were a suspicious lot and despite his name being cleared and everything being splashed across the late night, special and early editions of the Daily Prophet, people were still going to be scared of him or at the very least hesitant.

But Sirius didn't care, he was free! He resisted the urge to begin dancing madly again, since the last time he has started Remus had smacked him in the back of the head rather hard and it still smarted slightly. He grinned at his old friend, unable to hide his jubilation for long. Moony offered him a long suffering smile, though his eyes were twinkling lightly, belying his own happiness at this amazing turn of events.

Remus smiled as he watched Sirius walked towards Gringotts; he could see how happy his friend was. The stress wrinkles that had been around his eyes and mouth seemed to have faded with the news, and he was finally clean with a decent haircut. Of course he had been clean before, but being locked up in Grimmauld or Malfoy Manor made it a bit difficult for him to indulge in new clothes or a proper haircut.

Lucius and Narcissa had been great, but his cousins were very opinionated on appearances and most of the clothing Narcissa had managed to procure for him fit her standards and were about as far away from his own personal, more muggle-based preferences then he was willing to admit, especially to her face.

Stepping into Gringotts, Sirius made his way to the first available teller, a grin on his face despite the unimpressed look the goblin graced him with.

"Lord Black, your account manager has been waiting to speak with you since the news first broke, if you would please follow me," the goblin stated, sliding off of his stool and leading Remus and Sirius down a long, marble hallway towards the offices of the higher up goblins and account managers of the Diagon Alley branch of Gringotts.

The goblin bowed slightly as he pushed open a door, allowing Sirius and Remus to enter the room before he allowed the door to shut behind them, leaving them alone with a rather distinguished looking goblin (if one could call a goblin distinguished).

"Ah Lord Black, I have been expecting you. I am Bloodfang, head of the Black accounts" The goblin introduced himself, gesturing politely for Remus and Sirius to seat themselves.

"Pleased to meet you Bloodfang," Sirius said, his tone formal, "this is my friend and associate Remus Lupin."

As soon as introductions had been made the two men and one goblin settled down and began the arduous task of hashing out the Black accounts as well as managing properties.

**-Blood-**

Orion grinned as Archimedes dropped a letter in front of him before landing next to Draco's plate and stole a piece of bacon before taking off again.

"Bloody bird," Draco grumbled, though his eyes held an affectionate gleam for the bird. Orion ignored his brother as he opened his letter, smiling once he realized it was from Sirius.

"Look," he said with a grin, shoving the letter at Draco once he had finished reading it. Draco sighed theatrically, though he took the letter and scanned it curiously.

"Oh wow," Draco said, surprised yet pleased, "he made you his heir." That was rare, though not unheard of. When the head of a family was a bachelor or incapable of having children, they would often appoint a favored nephew, cousin or godchild to be the next heir of the family. It wasn't really a surprise that Sirius Black had made Orion the Black heir, especially since Orion had been Black's godson and they still thought of one another in that sense.

"Is that bad?" Orion asked his brother worriedly, his teeth immediately beginning to worry his bottom lip.

"Hm? No of course not, it's a very good thing actually." Draco hastily reassured his little brother.

"You know how I'm the Malfoy heir?" he asked, looking intently at Orion. They had slowly been educating the young Malfoy on pureblood etiquette and traditions.

"Mhm," Orion mumbled, still looking a bit worried.

"So being named Sirius' heir means that when Sirius passes away or chooses to step down, you will take over responsibility for the Black Family, just like I will for the Malfoy family," Draco explained. "You don't have to worry about it yet, and I'm sure Father, Sirius and our Uncles will help you when we return home for the summer. There really isn't anything to worry about Ori," Draco said, using his affectionate nickname for his brother.

"Oh...okay," Orion responded, returning to his breakfast as he scanned the letter once again.

Draco sighed, he'd have to get his father to sit down and explain the situation to Orion a bit better then he had.

"It really is a good thing Orion," he said again, smirking as his brother rolled his eyes and huffed at him in obvious annoyance.

"I know Draco," Orion said. "I was just startled when I read the letter; I didn't think Siri would do something like that."

"Why not?" Draco asked, arching an eyebrow at his younger brother.

"Just didn't think he would. I mean why would he make me his heir? I'm sure they're better options," Orion admitted, his voice low to keep his housemates from overhearing.

"Sirius loves you Orion. Hell the man broke out of Azkaban for you, he left the side of the light for you; anyone with half a brain knows that that man sees you as his own child. Of course he would make you his heir, it would have been surprising if he didn't," Draco said, his voice quiet yet passionate.

Orion looked rather startled before a pleased flush took over his cheeks, reddening them slightly. Draco sighed, relieved that he had managed to cheer up his younger sibling. He occasionally forgot that Orion had been so emotionally damaged by those damn muggles. Of course Orion wouldn't have thought that he was worth the gesture Sirius had bestowed on him-he still didn't think he was worth it.

He needed to be reassured that he was loved and cared for, and Draco was damn well going to make sure he knew he was loved. Orion smiled at Draco, feeling more relaxed now that his brother had reassured him of Sirius' love and that this heir thing was a justified decision on his godfather's part, because yes he still saw Sirius and even Remus as his godfathers, Tom as well now.

**-Blood-**

Sirius flooed into Malfoy Manor, having parted ways with Remus when his old friend had entered the bookstore. Sirius wasn't a big fan of bookstores and he knew how much time the studious marauder could spend in Flourish and Blotts when given the opportunity.

Trotting happily into the Manor, he whistled contently, a file in his hand with papers he had to show Lucius, along with informing him and Narcissa that he had made Orion his heir. He doubted they'd care, though he suspected Tom also had the same idea though making Orion heir of Slytherin would be a more drawn out, secretive processes, due to the war.

"Sirius," Lucius greeted, slightly surprised at seeing the Black Lord bursting into his office while whistling of all things.

"Lucius," Sirius said, sitting down opposite Lucius, the man's large, mahogany desk between them.

"Can I help you?" The Malfoy asked, his tone bemused. Since the Holidays, Lucius had become used to the marauders antics and everyone was adjusting to the boisterous pair.

"I just came to inform you of how my visit with Gringotts went," Sirius said, placing his fold of papers down on the table between them.

"Oh?" Lucius inquired, picking up the folder and leafing through the different reports. He was pleased to see that despite Sirius' incarceration and the death of his parents, the goblins had kept the accounts in order and everything seemed to be running according to plan. Pausing on the last page, he allowed a small smile to grace his aristocratic features.

"You made Orion your heir?" Lucius inquired curiously. He was honored the man thought so highly of his son.

"Of course, I've loved him since the minute James placed him in my arms and named me godfather. He may not be Harry James Potter, but that love remains the same and he'll always be my godson," Sirius said, his 'serious' tone belying his honesty.

"I know Sirius when you accepted him during the Holidays and took his side, we knew that you loved him. You and Remus both."

Sirius flashed the man a brilliant grin and gave him his copy of the paperwork as the floo came to life.

"Lucius?" Cornelius Fudge's voice sounded. "Could you possibly come through? I have some things I wish to discuss with you." The pompous voice sounded from the flames. Sirius rolled his eyes and rose, gather his papers.

"On that note, I shall see you later Lucius. I shall hopefully be moving Moony and me from Grimmauld to some place better, nicer perhaps," the Black Lord said, slipping from the room his whistling picking up again before the door shut. Lucius rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Fudge, allowing himself a frustrated sigh before stepping through the floo.

He still wasn't exactly feeling charitable towards the Ministry, however he knew they were a necessary evil especially since he and the Ministry had been working (secretly) to uncover the truth about what had happened all those years previous with Orion, the Potters and Dumbledore. He needed to be sure of everything, have the proof that Dumbledore and the light side had taken his son (something of which he was sure of) before he went after them and destroyed them.

**-Blood-**

Sirius continued on his way through the Manor, his whistling echoing off the walls while he headed towards floo room.

"Will you shut up!" A voice sounded from behind him, causing the dog animagus to whirl around, wand drawn.

"Vol-Tom-Sir?" Sirius exclaimed, sucking in a startled breath and lowering his wand. The Dark Lord rolled his eyes and scowled.

"Your inane whistling was distracting me from my work. I could hear you, quite loudly might I add, all the way down the hall!" the man snapped in annoyance.

"Heh, sorry Sir. I didn't even realize I was doing it, habit I suppose." The man shrugged with a wry grin. Tom pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a suffering sigh.

"In the future Black, please try and refrain from making such a racket," Tom grumbled, dropping his hands to his side. Sirius began to chuckle, drawing the Dark Lord's blood red glare.

"Something funny Black?" Tom growled out, eyes narrowing intently.

"Y-you have ink on your face," Sirius giggled, when Tom had pinched his nose, some wet ink that had been on his hand, had smudged on his face. Tom's eyes widened slightly and his face reddened slightly, right in front of Sirius' shocked eyes. He had never seen, nor even suspected, that the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, He who must not be named himself could blush.

"Here," Sirius mumbled, reaching up unthinkingly and rubbing the ink off of Tom's cheek and nose. Part way through the motion, Sirius' eyes had widened in abject horror and his hand dropped nervously to his side.

"Oh shit!" he gasped out, "your darkness, lord, whatever I am so sorry..." Sirius began to stammer, "I would never touch you, I mean I would never presume to touch you, to assume you'd want my touch," he stammered in a horrified tone.

Tom watched in amusement. Sirius' touch hadn't been displeasing, not in the least and the Black Lord was fairly attractive. Resisting the urge to laugh, Tom leaned forward slightly, bringing his hand up and pressing his fingers to the shorter man's stammering lips.

"It is fine Lord Black," he said, watching some color begin to return to Sirius' face before he bonelessly fell to the floor, relief rolling off of the prone man in waves.

"T-thank you," Sirius stammered, shocked that he was still alive and breathing. He had, at the very least, expected the Cruciatus curse.

Tom watched, bemused, as Sirius finally regained his footing, his face still slightly pale from his scare.

"For? Not killing you?" Tom asked, once again resisting the urge to chuckle. The dog animagus was proving to be very amusing.

"Well y-yes I suppose." Sirius stammered nervously, looking up at Tom and unconsciously touching his lips where the man had touched him. Looking at the Dark Lord, Sirius couldn't help but notice how attractive the man was. Of course he was a Dark Lord which didn't lessen the man's sexual appeal, just made Sirius a lot more nervous.

Tom laughed softly, startling Sirius even more.

"I don't generally kill people who are trying to help me, or people whom share a very close relationship with my godson," Tom stated. "Plus, despite your annoying whistling and habit of turning into a giant, drooling, flea bitten mess, I find you amusing Lord Black."

"Sirius," Sirius corrected absentmindedly. He hated being called Lord Black; it made him think of his father and subsequently his mother.

"Tom then, since you can't seem to decide on a name for me anyway," Tom chuckled. "Besides, you aren't one of my death eaters nor are you of the light persuasion anymore, and since we are practically family due to our mutual connection to Orion, I believe you can call me Tom."

Sirius grinned happily. At least he didn't have to fear for his life now; perhaps a pain spell or two, but he didn't have to worry about dying.

"Now Sirius, may I ask what you are doing at the Manor?" Tom asked, gesturing for the man to join him in his office, the one Lucius allowed him to use whenever he was staying at the Manor.

Sirius followed the man inside, settling himself on a comfortable chair and smiling at the Dark Lord.

"I came to drop of some Gringotts papers, I made Orion the Black heir." Sirius explained, showing Tom his copy of the paperwork.

"Ah," Tom said, reading the document curiously. "Very noble of you Sirius and I believe a very good decision. I've been considering doing the same thing, making Orion my heir," he admitted to the other man. Sirius smiled softly, nodding his head lightly.

"I thought you would be, though it would be a far more drawn out process due to the fact it would need to remain secret," Sirius mused, "if the light or Albus were to find out..." He trailed off, shuddering. Dumbledore and the Weasleys were already harassing Orion. If they found out about Tom being his godfather and Orion becoming the Slytherin heir, it would be disastrous for the young man.

Tom nodded in agreement. He knew he'd have to use very Slytherin tactics to make Orion his heir, but he also knew that he'd do it in a second.

"So now that you've delivered your papers Sirius, where are you off to?" The man asked curiously.

"I'm off to inspect my nearby properties. I despise Grimmauld place, and now that I'm free, the seized Black Properties that weren't under the Fidelius charm were returned to me and I can find an appropriate one to move myself and Moony into," Sirius responded with a massive grin.

"Oh?" Tom inquired. "I thought Grimmauld was the ancestral Black Home."

"It is, but I can't stand the place. I never got along with my mother and my memories of Grimmauld aren't exactly pleasant." Sirius explained. "Plus both Remus and I would be far more comfortable in a more isolated area. Perhaps with some forest or fields around us."

"Ah yes Remus, your lover..?" Tom asked curiously.

"Wh-No!" Sirius stammered. "Remy is a friend, my brother if anything, but we are not lovers. Remus isn't even gay or at least, I don't think he is," he said, brow furrowing.

"And you Sirius, are you gay?" Tom asked, rather bluntly for a Slytherin.

"Me?" Sirius squeaked, face flushing a deep red color. "Yes, yes I am." He finally responded, fighting to keep his voice steady. Tom smiled wickedly at that small bit of information.

"Good," Tom said, ignoring Sirius' incredulous expression. Grinning wickedly at the man, Tom observed the Black lord over steepled fingers.

"I have enjoyed our conversation this afternoon Sirius, however I shall let you get to your task. Perhaps you could join me for dinner sometime this week? I know a lovely restaurant in France that should be low key enough to keep us both out of the papers.

Sirius gaped; had the Dark Lord just asked him out on a date? Goggling at the man for a minute, he was finally able to find his voice and squeaked out a meager yes before rising and practically running from the room.

Chuckling, Tom grinned. He knew that this would be an interesting hunt with such frantic prey, however Sirius Black would soon be his regardless of what the Black Lord actually wanted.

**-Blood**

"MOONY!" the shriek sounded through the house, startling the werewolf whom was reading on the couch, rather badly.

"Padfoot?" The man asked as his friend tore into the living room and practically grabbed him.

"He-the...he...date!" Sirius stammered out, hands grabbing the collar of his best friend.

"Calm down Padfoot," Remus said, eyes wide, trying to grasp what the hell the crazed dog animagus was raving about. "Calm down." He carefully dragged his friend to the couch and forced him to sit, summoning an irate Kreacher to bring them tea for Sirius and hot chocolate for himself.

Ignoring the elf, who was grumbling under his breath once he returned with the drinks, he forced Sirius to drink the tea, finally getting the man calmed down enough to hear the story from start to finish. By the end of Sirius' explanation, Remus was tempted to call Kreacher back for some fire whiskey.

"The Dark Lord? As in Lord Voldemort asked you on a date?" Remus finally managed to stutter, looking at his friend in shock.

"Uh huh," Sirius mumbled numbly, staring into the dregs of his tea cup in a manner reminiscent of Trelawney, though Sirius wasn't nearly as comical.

"Well shit." Remus mumbled, finally summoning Kreacher to bring the alcohol. He poured himself a generous amount before doing the same for Sirius.

"What did you say?" He asked once they were both calm and slightly intoxicated.

"Yes," Sirius murmured, his face still slightly pale. "I said yes. I agreed to go on a date with the Dark Lord Moony!" Sirius groaned.

"Do you not want to go out with him?" Remus asked curiously.

"I-I yes I do want to go out with him," Sirius stammered suddenly. "I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't want to. It's just.." he sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. "I don't know why he would even ask me. I'm sure they're are so many others, those more dedicated to his cause that he could go out with," he continued, looking at his friend uncertainly.

"I'm sure they are Sirius, but that's not the point. He chose you and I get the feeling he isn't the type to make a decision lightly. So, I suggest you go on this date and get to know him as a person, as Orion's godfather and as someone you may, potentially start a relationship with. If it works out, go for it, if it doesn't, then end it politely." The levelheaded werewolf said softly.

"I-" Sirius sighed, flashing his friend a thankful smile. "I will Remy, thank you." Remus grinned and poured them each another measure of the whiskey, tossing it back with a sigh.

"You don't do anything by halves, do you," he teased his friend lightly. Sirius chuckled, shrugging as he did so.

"You know me Rem, go big or go home," he said, tossing back his own shot before sinking down tiredly on the couch. He'd go house hunting tomorrow, when he felt better and was more or less sober.

**-Blood-**

Orion flopped tiredly on his bed in his and Draco's shared room. It had been a long, frustrating day. After the relaxation of the Holidays, despite Bellatrix's behaviour, coming back to Hogwarts and dealing with the Weasleys had been pretty stressful. Even Hermione, whom he hoped would come to her senses had yet to approach him or even look at him with anything less then disgust in her eyes. Despite that, he was happy to be back among friends though he had seen most of them over Christmas and New Years.

"Did you have a good day?" Draco asked as he entered the room, smiling as he saw his brother laying face down on his bed.

"Of course not1" Orion mumbled, glancing up at Draco and snorting. "It was awful." Draco chuckled, nodding in agreement as he sat down next to his brother.

"First day back is always awful, makes you miss how calm being at home," Draco said with a sigh.

"Mhm," Orion agreed. It had been his first time leaving Hogwarts for a holiday other then summer and he now understood what others complained about when coming back to school.

Draco just smiled, continuing to rub Orion's back in an attempt to comfort his younger brother.

He knew Orion would feel the separation from being home much more acutely then he would, since this was his fifth year of coming home after the Holidays and he was used to spending holidays with family, whereas this was Orion's first real Christmas with his family and his second time having to leave them. Plus with all the fears and drama at Hogwarts, coming back wasn't an easy decision.

"It'll get better and soon it'll be summer and we can go home and relax," Draco said with a grin.

"I know Mother and Father want to take us on a vacation this year, since you've never gotten to travel and I'm sure it will be awesome." He added, watching his brother prop himself up slightly, eyes shining excitedly.

"Really? A trip?" he asked as if he couldn't believe it.

"Of course, we usually go on one during the holidays," Draco said with a grin. He knew Orion would enjoy the news and it would give his little brother something to look forward to for the rest of the year.

"Yay!" Orion cheered quietly, a trip would be amazing, especially since he had never been on one before since the Dursleys had never taken him on any of the many trips that they took Dudley.

He had always been required to stay with the odd, cat obsessed neighbour Mrs. Figg. Draco sighed, knowing why his brother was so pleased which made him sort of sad. The Dursleys deserved to pay for what they had done, though he knew that the Ministry had already gotten to and sentenced them to Azkaban with the son being given to his Aunt since he was underage.

In his opinion, the low security part of the prison wasn't punishment enough for the despicable muggles, but he couldn't very well argue with the ministry. His father had learned that after Fudge had revoked the Dursleys guardianship of Harry Potter, they had been taken into Auror custody and tried almost immediately for child abuse.

Of course, this had all been done before it had been discovered who Harry Potter exactly was, and the Dursleys may be dragged back into court when Lucius went after Dumbledore since they may be accessories to kidnapping, though Draco doubted it. There was no way the muggles would have kept Orion if they had known that he wasn't actually blood related to them.

A soft noise drew his attention downward and he realized his little brother had fallen asleep while he had been thinking. Chuckling, he rose and carefully stripped his little brother of his outer clothing, magicking a pair of sleep pants on him before tucking him into bed. Dousing the lights, Draco snuck out of the room to join his friends in the Common Room and to write a letter to his parents, requesting that they take a trip for the summer.

He already knew they would, but he wanted to make sure that everything went perfectly for Orion's first vacation. He knew if he asked that Uncle Sev and Uncle Tom would come, along with Sirius and Remus and he was positive that between them, his parents and he his little brother would have the best first vacation ever.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, I do have a twitter if you're interested in my stories and when I'm going to update. I've also been playing with the idea of making a FB page, let me know what you guys think =] Twitter: BloodyRed_Queen =]**


End file.
